One of the last trades the Cincinnati Reds front office made this offseason was shipping left-handed reliever Amir Garrett to the Kansas City Royals in exchange for veteran starter Mike Minor.
The trade was bizarre, as it appeared as though Cincinnati was looking to shed payroll heading into the season, but then made the decision to send AG and his $2M contract to KC in exchange for Minor and his $10M salary.
The Reds are now devoid of a left-handed presence in the bullpen outside of the recently signed Ross Detwiler. Justin Wilson is currently on the IL and Phillip Diehl enjoyed his 15 minutes of fame before being designated for assignment.
So, what's Amir Garrett up to in Kansas City? Is the former Cincinnati southpaw back to his dominant self or are the Royals unable to count on AG? Let's check in on the former Reds reliever, shall we?
How has former Reds LHP Amir Garrett faired with the Royals?
Well, it's been a mixed bak for Amir Garrett since arriving in the Show Me State. The left-hander is currently 1-0 with a 4.35 ERA and a 4.07 FIP in 12 appearances out of the Kansas City Royals bullpen.
The 30-year-old enjoyed a great deal of success during the early-going as AG struck out six batters in 5.1 innings of work during the left-hander's first six game without allowing a single run. But then things began to go sideways.
During AG's last six appearances, the southpaw has surrendered five runs on just two hits while allowing an abysmal seven free passes and punching out just two. Garrett has an unsightly 9.00 ERA during that stretch.
Game Rewind: Amir Garrett retired all five batters he faced, two via the strikeout. #Royals pic.twitter.com/JptAEQDSsc
— Bally Sports Kansas City (@BallySportsKC) May 13, 2022
For the season as a whole, per FanGraphs, Amir Garrett has a 23.8% strikeout-rate and a 21.4% walk-rate. Yikes! But, on the plus side, opposing batters have yet to take Garret deep this year and are hitting just .063 when they do make contact.
The most troubling stat is that Garrett has allowed only two hits on the year, none of which have gone for extra bases, and yet he still owns an ERA of 4.35. That speaks to how costly those free passes have been. Reds Country knows all too well, walks will haunt.
In the win-loss column, Amir Garrett may have some bragging rights over his old teammates, but not much. The Kansas City Royals are not as inept as the Cincinnati Reds, but AG's new club is just 12-21 on the season and merely a half-game ahead of the struggling Detroit Tigers.