Washington beat the Braves (and everyone else) to the punch Monday when they grabbed Kelvin Herrera away from the Royals for three minor leaguers.

It has been pretty much a consensus that Herrera was the best bullpen arm available, as he has merely has walked only two in 22 innings while amassing 14 saves and a 1.05 ERA. He had 26 saves last year and appeared in over 70 games in each year from 2014-2016. He was a two-tine AL all-star.

The Nationals traded Kelvin Gutierrez, who was a Class AA infielder at age 23; Blake Perkins., a switch-hitting outfielder who was hitting .234 in the Carolina League; and RHP Yohanse Morel, who is only 17 and pitching in the DSL. None was considered to be a top 30 prospect.

This is the first incident where I feel AA fiddled while Rome made a deal on a player who would have locked down the Braves bullpen. This is an ouchie.