Pittsburgh Pirates Acquire Outfielder Edward Olivares in Trade With Kansas City Royals

Edward Olivares is headed to the Pittsburgh Pirates after four seasons manning the corner outfield positions for the struggling Kansas City Royals.

The Kansas City Royals have traded outfielder Edward Olivares to the Pittsburgh Pirates, MLB.com's Anne Rogers reported Friday.

The Pirates are sending minor league utility man Deivis Nadal back to Kansas City in return.

According to Rogers, the Royals are making the trade to open up a spot on their 40-man roster for relief pitcher Chris Stratton, who they signed Tuesday. There are bound to be more moves coming in the near future, considering Kansas City also added outfielder Hunter Renfroe and starting pitcher Michael Wacha on Friday, but those deals are still technically pending physicals.

Olivares first joined the Royals in 2020, when the club traded closer Trevor Rosenthal to the San Diego Padres. He spent his first few years bouncing between the majors and minors, then struggling with injuries, before carving out a more regular role in 2023.

The 27-year-old Venezuelan outfielder hit 12 home runs with 36 RBI and 11 stolen bases in 107 games. Olivares hit .263 on the season with a .769 OPS and 0.3 WAR.

In each of his four big league seasons, Olivares has put up a negative defensive WAR, but he owns an above-average OPS+ of 109 over the last two years.

Bryan Reynolds and Jack Suwinski are essentially locked in as the Pirates' starting left fielder and center fielder for 2024, but Olivares may have a chance to compete with Joshua Palacios for the top job in right.

The Royals, meanwhile, just brought in Renfroe to start in right field, and they signed former Colorado Rockies and Miami Marlins utility man Garrett Hampson back in November. They are also getting back a dynamic 21-year-old minor leaguer in Nadal who has played shortstop, second base, third base and all three outfield positions in High-A.

Although Nadal is a .228 hitter in his professional career, he has stolen 44 bases in his last 157 games.

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