When the Kansas City Royals swung a deal with the Padres to acquire pitching depth at the trade deadline, that's precisely what that move looked like at the time - a deal in which brought in a pair of young controllable depth arms amid a time of injury uncertainty.
And while it was Ryan Bergert who looked to be the diamond in the rough of that deal in the early going, it's been his co-acquisition in Stephen Kolek that's stolen the show in recent weeks.
Kolek wasn't always a part of the Royals' plan for 2025, having been sent down to Triple-A Omaha immediately after being acquired.