Merrell was traded to the Royals from the Athletics on Sunday in exchange for starting pitcher Homer Bailey, Joel Goldberg of FOX Sports Kansas City reports.
The A's are chasing down a playoff spot and needed a back-of-the-rotation starter, so Merrell goes to a new organization after being picked 33rd overall in 2017. Merrell was hitting .246 with a .631 OPS for Double-A Midland this season, but he's been a better hitter than that in his brief minor-league career and was viewed as one of the fastest players in Oakland's system, per Matt Eddy of Baseball America. Merrell will report to Double-A Northwest Arkansas to begin his time with Kansas City and could end up filling a super-utility role at the MLB level if he develops the way the Royals think he can.
