Royals trade Tim Hill to Padres for Franchy Cordero, Ronald Bolaños

With just over a week remaining before Opening Day, the Kansas City Royals struck a deal Thursday night that will boost their outfield depth while costing them one of their most reliable relievers in 2019, opening up the bullpen competition a bit.

The Royals dealt lefty reliever Tim Hill to the Padres for outfielder Franchy Cordero and right-handed pitcher Ronald Bolaños, both of whom will be added to the 40-man roster. In order to open up a second spot, infielder Kelvin Gutierrez will be transferred to the 45-day injured list with an elbow strain.

Hill, 30, was one of the Royals’ most consistent weapons out of the bullpen last season, making 46 appearances and going 2-0 with a 3.63 ERA.

Cordero, 25, has played in parts of three seasons with the Padres, hitting .240 with nine doubles, four triples, 10 homers and 36 runs scored in 79 major league games. He was limited to just nine  games with the Padres last season due to a pair of stints on the injured list. A left-handed hitter, Cordero was named a Baseball America Triple-A All-Star with El Paso in 2017, setting a Triple-A record with 18 triples, which also tied for the most in the minor leagues during that season. He also dealt with injuries in 2018 and played in just 40 big-league games, but his seven home runs in just 139 at-bats averaged 439 ft., per Statcast, the highest home run distance average in the majors in 2018 (min. 80 batted balls).

Bolaños, 23, made his MLB debut last September with the Padres after splitting a majority of the season between High-A Lake Elsinore and Double-A Amarillo. He was 0-2 with a 5.95 ERA in his five appearances (three starts) with San Diego after posting a 13-7 mark with a 3.66 ERA and 142 strikeouts in 23 starts (25 appearances) combined in his minor league stops. His strikeout total ranked second among all San Diego minor leaguers.