The Kansas City Royals' full haul from the trade of right hander Jonathan Broxton to the Cincinnati Reds is a pair of minor league arms, according to the team's official Twitter account:
— Kansas City Royals (@Royals) July 31, 2012
#Royals acquire LH reliever Donnie Joseph & RH starter J.C. Sulbaran from Reds for RHP Broxton. Joseph was pitching @ AAA, Sulbaran @ AA.
Sulbaran was a 30th round pick of the Reds from the 2008 draft and is currently 7-7 with a 4.04 ERA in AA in 19 starts. In 104 2/3 innings with 111 strikeouts and 54 walks. Joseph is 8-3 with 1.72 ERA in 44 relief appearances in AA and AAA combined. In 52 1/3 innings he has 68 strikeouts and 17 walks.
With Broxton's deal set to expire at the end of the year and the Royals languishing in the AL Central basement, Royals Review gives the K.C. front office credit for finding value in the closer:
Okay, its not a huge deal, but it makes sense considering Broxton is closing games for a last place club going nowhere and is a free agent in two months. Some credit has to be given to Dayton Moore for acquiring Broxton in the first place, even though most of us said "huh? But we already have bullpen depth and a great closer in Joakim Soria!" Good relievers always have value at the trade deadline, and there were more than a few teams interested in Broxton leading up to the deadline.
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