The Brewers are sending outfielder Isaac Collins and right-hander Nick Mears to the Royals, reports Robert Murray of FanSided. Left-hander Angel Zerpa is heading to Milwaukee in the swap, reports Jeff Passan of ESPN.
Kansas City entered the offseason with a plan to add outfielders. The club made good on those intentions this week. After signing Lane Thomas on Friday, the Royals now add the switch-hitting Collins to the outfield mix. The cost is a controllable lefty reliever, though they get a bullpen piece back in return. Milwaukee clears some of its outfield glut while adding a hard-throwing reliever who is just now hitting arbitration.
The 28-year-old Collins went from relative obscurity to an integral part of Milwaukee’s offense last season. He made the team out of Spring Training and emerged as the club’s primary left fielder. Collins delivered a 122 wRC+ across 130 games. He finished fourth in NL Rookie of the Year voting, just behind teammate Caleb Durbin.
The Brewers were reportedly looking to move some of their outfield depth, with Collins and Blake Perkins mentioned as potential candidates. Jackson Chourio and Sal Frelick are entrenched as everyday options, with Christian Yelich factoring in when he isn’t DHing. Collins, Perkins, Garrett Mitchell, and Brandon Lockridge were in the mix behind that trio. Milwaukee also added Akil Baddoo on a split deal.
Zerpa popped up in trade discussions last offseason, but ultimately remained in Kansas City. He reached 60 appearances for the second straight season, posting a 4.18 ERA over 64 2/3 innings. Zerpa pushed his solid ground ball rate to league-leading levels in 2025. He’d always been more of a grounder-getter than a strikeout guy, but his 63.7% ground ball rate ranked in the 99th percentile last season.
The 26-year-old Zerpa’s 3.97 career ERA doesn’t jump off the page, though his underlying numbers paint a better picture. The lefty posted a career-best 3.38 SIERA in 2025, bringing his career mark down to 3.67. He had a solid 3.50 xFIP this past year. Zerpa has recorded a BABIP above .320 in back-to-back seasons. His ground ball approach can lead to some batted ball variance, but that number could regress in future seasons.
Mears came to Milwaukee in a trade from Colorado in July 2024. He struggled mightily in his first partial season with the team, but provided solid results as a middle relief option in 2025. Mears faltered down the stretch, allowing five earned runs in five September appearances. He also missed time with back tightness that month. Mears tossed 1 1/3 scoreless innings in the NLDS but was left off the NLCS roster.
Kansas City has been linked to several outfielders in the trade market, including Teoscar Hernandez, Jake Meyers, and Brendan Donovan. They were connected to Jarren Duran earlier today. Harrison Bader and Austin Hays have been mentioned as free agent possibilities for the Royals. They entered the offseason with an unproven group of Jac Caglianone, Kyle Isbel, and John Rave in the outfield, with Tyler Tolbert and Dairon Blanco as bench options.
Thomas and Collins aren’t Durran-level additions, but they’re improvements on the in-house choices. The former Brewer should help in particular against right-handed pitching. Collins slashed .280/.390/.415 over 295 plate appearances from the left side. He showed some power as a righty, but hit just .232 with a pedestrian .324 OBP. Thomas will likely grab playing time against lefty starters.
Zerpa is an intriguing fit in what projects to be a lefty-heavy bullpen. Milwaukee already has Jared Koenig and Aaron Ashby locked into leverage roles, with Rob Zastryzny in a middle relief gig and DL Hall as the long guy. Trevor Megill and Abner Uribe should soak up the majority of the save opportunities, with Koenig as the situational closer if multiple lefties are coming up. Zerpa might need one or two of those relievers to get dealt to factor into a late-inning job.
Photo courtesy of Benny Sieu, Imagn Images
Good pickups for the Royals.
Collins and Mears both faded in September. Mears didn’t even make the Brewers’ postseason roster, and Collins shouldn’t have given his slump.
Don’t see how this move helps them return to the World Series next year.
“…return to the World Series next year.” Pretty sure neither of these teams were in the World Series last year.
Wasn;t referring to last year specifically, more recently.
Neither the Brewers or Royals have been in the WS recently…
“AI Overview
While there’s no exact public tally, expect several dozen MLB players from the 2015 season to still be active in 2025, with some nearing or reaching 10 years of service time, but a vast majority having retired due to the demanding nature of the sport, though veterans like LeBron James (NBA) and Tom Brady (NFL) show long careers are possible.”
And Christian is one of the many still active player. Many many many still active players.
What is this response…
C-Daddy’s? I’m not sure
Which team?
Royals get an OFer who at least might starting quality
Brewers get a very solid reliever
I do agree with others who say Brewers need to get more
Good sale high by the Brewers
Selling high would mean they got the most value possible in return… you call getting Zerpa in return “selling high”?
Collins is coming off of a 122 wRC+ season
I think that’s selling high
I mean obviously they did get what they felt was the “most value possible”, or they wouldn’t have done it.
You could fill volumes with all the bad takes around Brewers pitcher trades the last few years. Just go read all the takes here after the Priester deal
Selling high men’s trading a player coming off a season that you don’t think is repeatable.
@Ilike
So you think Collins has peaked in his first season? He could prove to be a good player for the next 5 years.
if its really just zerpa for isaac + mears
then this a huge W for royals
and very questionable move by brewers
There HAS to be more return for the Brewers.
isaac collins can play 2B, 3B, he can play RF, LF, CF. he had such an underrated rookie year. he seemed to perfectly fit in milwaukee. a little speed, a little pop, great OBP. i think he could be in OD lineup for KC
Collins is a AAAA player who had a freakish year in 2025 and isn’t young.
29 year old “rookie”
@seam
What a misuse of the “AAAA player” designation. Those types are usually guys who perform well at AAA and are usually old for the level but then struggle at the mlb level. I haven’t followed him prior but it looks like he was drafted after 3 years in college and had an .800+ OPS in his 5 years in the minors. He debuted briefly last year and in his first full season posted a .800+ OPS and a great 14% walk rate. Not exactly struggling and he didn’t bounce back to AAA. As for his age, who cares? All a team should worry about is his next 6 years of control not the next 10 years of his career. He was near a 3 year guy and who’s to say he couldn’t add more power and be a 4 WAR guy earning minimum?
He even finished 4th in RotY voting, definitely a head scratcher by the Brewers!
I’ve learned not to second guess Matt Arnold.
No, he cant play 3B or CF, and he can barely play 2B.
incl minors,
374 career games at 2B
75 games at CF
he must have had the worst managers ever to consistently put him at a position he can “barely play” or “cant play”
Royals’ chances of winning 1st or 2nd just greatly increased, while the Brewers’ chances went the other way.
Hope you’re kidding. This is not like the teams swapped Chourio for Bobby Witt Jr
You think the Royals swapping Witt for Chourio would HELP the Royals?
Yeah I’m kidding. The Brewers have magic.
Anybody who thinks Witt leaving the Royals will help them has no idea how baseball works.
Guessing teams weren’t buying into Collins, he has really only had a couple good months. Isaac was so bad in the 2nd half that he stopped getting PT, he was getting eaten alive by breaking balls down and in, and his defense fell off a cliff.
@Russ
Haha… figured out? He had a June OPS over .900, July and August were around .850 and he had a horrible 14 game stretch in Sept/Oct where he struggled but still had a 11 walks and 10 ks. He still sported a .345 OBP. That doesn’t indicate he was “eaten alive” by breaking balls.
2nd half was perhaps too uncharitable, the defensive downturn happened when he got back from paternity leave mid August, and the breaking ball issue started shortly after. His September numbers dont look so bad because he they stopped playing him every day, any RH w a good slider you can bet he wasnt playing.
Hopefully he can get that magic back, maybe not getting everyday AB’s hurt his rhythm, but the Brewers clearly didnt believe in him, and judging by the return the league as a whole isnt very high on him.
Well think the Brewers did believe in him but they almost have the same guy in Black who they gotta decide to either give a fair chance or give up plus with Mitchell coming back it was just plain get while his stock was high. Do think Collins will keep getting better with regular playing time. Who knows Ben Zorbist was a late bloomer too.
Well
He’s almost certainly an improvement over what they had last year
2026 FG projection: 102 wRC+, 0.8 fWAR/315 PA
Fringe starter
BTV says
Zerpa $7.5
Collins $6.2
Mears $3.7
Total: $9.9
Slight overpay by Milwaukee per BTV
Don’t need bTV to tell me this is dumb as 💩. What the hell Arnold
Yes because Arnold has made one dumb move after another 🤦♂️
Crap choice for Brewers! Unbelievable! If we spent some money like the dodgers did we might have a chance at winning in all!
yeah so would the rockies
Obvious troll is obvious
@Russ not trying to troll but you give the rockies that much money and they actually spend it they’d be good.
Missing your sarcasm alert.
If everyone had the same income the Dodgers have, they would have a chance! (except in cases of lousy management, never help there in any league)
Are there more pieces moving than these three? Collins and a controllable reliever for… a controllable reliever.
It wouldn’t make sense for the Rockies because they don’t have a good core to build around. The Brewers do and they just need a couple more piece to win it all.
I’d love to see the crew get more but mears is out of options. Looks like this Zerpa guy has 1.
Mearcat was solid as the get out of a jam guy but they must not see him capable of more.
That’s it!!!!what
I don’t get this for Milwaukee
Same. Unless there are more pieces still to be reported.
Same, was hoping they could sell high on both guys, but not seeing what’s so special about Zerpa. OTOH, the Brewers know pitching like no one else, so they must see something in him
Also, maybe they are getting more and it just hasnt been announced yet?
I think it also means that the Brewers are going to try and make Hall a starter again as Zerpa replaces Hall in the pen and Hall goes to the rotation? IDK
Good point, could see Hall or Ashby getting a rotation slot with a good ST
RB
“what’s so special about Zerpa”
Massive GB rate
In Mils opinion given the 26/40 man roster restrictions and what we have, Brewers opened a roster spot in a really 40-man-crunched organization for another year of control for a reliever (they feel) either 1) helps their puzzle better or 2) is a certain level better reliever than Mears going forward. Doesn’t need to be tough,
I would’ve thrown in James MacArthur as well
What’s up with you and James MacArthur?
he was injured almost half the season and they reached to arbitration with him, which I find ridiculous. I would’ve just nontendered him.
book ’em, Danno!
This seems…optimistic for the Brewers. Can Hook figure this guy out?
Looking at his savant, love how all those grounders will play with their infield
Think Collins turned into a pumpkin late last year, but rooting for him.
Rare jobber for jobber trade.
Collins just finished 4th in RotY votes with a near .800 OPS, and apparently has good defensive versatility. Wouldn’t really call him a “jobber” yet after such a strong rookie season.
That’s it? Just Zerpa..? what’s missing?
they forgot to mention the lifetime supply of burnt ends from one of the local barbecue places anytime the Brewers are in town so every other year
I’m pretty sure there’s more in it for the Brewers. More to come usually means just that. Still those are 2 pretty nice P/U’s for the Royals if the return is just Minor Leaguers and Zerpa.
Next season the Cubs are going to finish above the Brewers because of this.
Suggesting that everyone read Curt Hogg (beat writer) analyzing the trade. Mears’ effectiveness diminished to the point where he was left off the playoff rosters. Collins had a better first half, and there is plenty of OF depth. The Crew needed a high-leverage lefty alongside Koenig. (And if anybody doesn’t trust Matt Arnold by now…)
Collins’ defense in left was hard to watch in the second half and he had all of 10 postseason plate appearances. Despite this I hope he still has more to give as I always liked the Royals and hope they do well.
Mears was more hittable as the season wore on. May have been due to overuse during the first three months, but worth considering nonetheless.
At the time of this comment, the Brewers’ return is only reported to be Zerpa. Hopefully there’s more to it because I don’t get it otherwise.
Collins seems like a reasonable bet to take a step back next year and moving forward, but at this point even his floor suggests he’s a major leaguer and probably a fourth outfielder at worst. If he builds off his breakout last year, he’s an everyday player controllable for several years. And Mears alone might be better than Zerpa right now.
Well then, Brewers rumors were more than that! Good for the Royals.
Zerpa can’t be the only return to Milwaukee. Must be more involved.
That’s why their is still more to come. Collins alone is worth more than Zerpa. Mears is also better than Zerpa, my guess is one of KC young starting pitchers plus another minor piece going Milwaukees way. Unless its just Cameron back then its a good deal for both
we are not trading Noah Cameron he’s from the area near Kansas City. Grew up a Royal’s fan. He’s not going anywhere.
I’m still not ruling out an Amos Oits comeback…….
Nori Aoki. Only because he’s younger.
I misjudged how much OF depth Brewers had to spare. Good trade.
Reporting on the web – yeah, I know all the usual caveats – makes it sound like Milwaukee only gets Zerpa. Kinda hard to believe but the Brewers must think they know more than the numbers.
In Matt Arnold we trust.
Zerpa will probably have a 2.84 era in 2026 as a key piece, Collins 2025 might be the best season he ever has. Or one of the two will be correct.
This looks like a really good deal from the Royals perspective.
I hope this one shuts down the other deals the Royals seemed to be be considering that would have involved trading away Ragans.
Why do the Brewers do this?
Someone in the comments here last week said Zerpa should’ve been DFA’d three years ago haha
What? A little odd. Did other teams know about this and just offer nothing?
Didn’t the Royals also trade for Misner earlier in the off-season. So they’ve gotten 3 new outfielders.
Akil Baddoo. Haven’t heard that name in a couple of years.
I guess Zerpa is young….
26 i think
I’m ok with this, except now KC really needs a good lefty on the bullpen. Maybe that’s why they gave up Zerpa, as they have another deal in the works. Raising the OF floor has been accomplished.
Still a chance they get someone else for OF, maybe a 3 team trade. On locked on Royals, someone proposed a trade of:
KC trades Bubic to Seattle
Seattle trades Randy to KC, Castillo to Boston
Boston trades Durran to Seattle
I think that’s what it was, maybe not. But something similar. Either way, hope this isn’t it. Maybe they’re banking on Jac to do well and Carter Jensen plays some OF.
Nailed it, in another post about the Brewers willing to trade OF’s. I named Kansas City as a team of need
I dunno. Both are 35+ players, extremely average at best. Collins a 9th rounder by COL, now 28 yo, statcast page is blue except for BB% and chase%, doesn’t barrel, a below average OF who is probably a decent defender.. Can;t imagine he fits in MIL future.
Zerpa, good FB, good GB, bad WHIP. Lotsa lefties in MIL pen now..
Not sure this helps either team, really. KC is so hurting for OF that it makes sense for them, but be careful what you wish for.
Definitely more to come.
Collins crapped the bed in the month of September, and he pissed in it in the month of April, but between May and August he did alright. There ya go royals fans
Just posted a rant about how I couldn’t fathom Collins being traded…. Ugh first trade since feyeriesen/Rasmussen for adames that I really haven’t liked (the main reason I disliked that trade is cause I grew up with feyeriesen…. That trade turned out to help the Crew of course) Collins is going to be an on base/steals/doubles/triples machine in Kansas City (u lucky….) he’ll most likely quickly become a fan favorite, Mears has one of the more effective sliders and when he’s healthy he’s very u underrated, can see the Crew are expecting a big step forward for this lefty, getting to work with hook/and he’ll have that superb defense behind him while he gets all those grounders…. I see what the Crew did here, but they overpaid…. Perkins/Mears should’ve been the hard line…. I guess they value perk higher than I thought and in my estimation greatly undervalued Collins…. He won them several games last year, and you can say he faded but look what he produced as a line particularly against lefties, if he’d started slow and finished strong with the same numbers his rookie season, well it’d be seen as a rousing success, which obviously it was regardless.. don’t currently like this deal but with the Crews success at identifying pitchers to bring in and the successes they’ve had, well I’d better give them some benefit of doubt here but, ouch…..They seemingly got kinda fleeced..