The Kansas City Royals completed a deal to acquire outfielder Isaac Collins and reliever Nick Mears from the Milwaukee Brewers in exchange for lefty reliever Angel Zerpa, according to multiple reports.
Collins, 28, finished fourth in National League Rookie of the Year voting last season after he hit .263 with nine home runs and 16 stolen bases across 130 games.
Collins combined with third baseman Caleb Durbin to give the Brewers two players that finished in the top four in NL Rookie of the Year voting, and their contributions helped Milwaukee to a 97-65 finish – the best record in the majors.
Mears pitched in 63 games a season ago, and he finished with a 3.49 earned-run average over 56.2 innings with one save. The Brewers acquired the 29-year-old in a deal with the Colorado Rockies in 2024.
Zerpa, 26, pitched to a 4.18 ERA for the Royals in 2025 over 64.2 innings. He struck out 58 batters.
The addition of Collins marks another new bat for the Royals in the outfield, after the team signed Lane Thomas earlier in December. Of the 10 outfielders to appear in more than 50 games for the Royals last season, seven finished the year with a negative Wins Above Replacement total, per Baseball Reference.