The Kansas City Royals announced on Friday that they had reached a trade with the Philadelphia Phillies that sends left-handed relief pitcher Matt Strahm back to the place he spent the first two years of his MLB career. Drafted in the 21st round in 2012 by Kansas City, Strahm debuted in 2016 for the club, making 21 relief appearances that season.

Spending some time as a starter in 2017, Strahm made three of his now 35 career starts, appearing in 24 games overall. He was then traded to the San Diego Padres where he spent four seasons before signing with the Boston Red Sox in 2022 and Phillies in 2023.

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Making his one and only All-Star appearance in 2024, Strahm reached the peak of his powers in Philly where he posted a 1.87 ERA. He took a step back last season, but was still solid with a 2.74 ERA. The 34-year-old projects to fit nicely in KC’s bullpen, and by all accounts he is excited to be back.

“Y’all ever put on an old hat and forgot how well it fit!?” he wrote on X with a picture of him in a Royals uniform.

After the deal became official, Royals general manager J.J. Picollo said via MLB.com, “We were all very, very excited when we realized this was a possibility for our team. We know Matt very well as a person, as a player, what type of competitor he is. And when you’re talking about a bullpen and pitching in high-leverage situations, there’s not very many left-handers that have done it better than Matt for the last couple of years. Proud to have been part of his career early on and to watch him move on and do what he’s doing — pitching in All-Star Games and playoff series, it’s a pretty special career. This is exactly what our bullpen needed right now.”

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Landing a pitcher of Strahm’s caliber should already excite Royals fans. But his post that shows he is already embracing this return to the AL Central should be even more exciting for those in KC, especially when considering the other moves the Royals have made this offseason — all of which indicate they plan on competing with the Cleveland Guardians and Detroit Tigers for the division crown in 2026.

“This all feels like a movie to me,” Strahm said. “This all started here in Kansas City. It’s gone full circle. With my family, I’ve been talking about the montage of my Spring Training profile pic over the [past] 10 years — it’s going to be a good one to go from Royal to Royal.”