Royals deal Broxton to Reds for prospects

With the Kansas City Royals' season having gone down the tubes during a miserable July, the team made a move for the future Tuesday, dealing closer Jonathan Broxton to the Cincinnati Reds for two minor league prospects.

Kansas City received left-handed reliever Donnie Joseph and right-handed starter J.C. Sulbaran.

Joseph, 24, was a combined 8-3 with 18 saves and a 1.72 ERA in 44 relief appearances in Class AA and Class AAA this season. He was a third-round pick in 2009 out of the University of Houston.

Sulbaran, 22, was 7-7 with a 4.09 ERA in 19 starts for Class AA Pensacola this year. He had struck out 111 and walked 54 in 104 2/3 innings.

Broxton, 28, had a 2.27 ERA with 23 saves in 35 2/2 innings this season. However, he has pitched only one inning since July 20 due to the Royals' recent slide. Broxton has pitched only five innings all month.

He has revitalized his career in 2012 following two down seasons with the Dodgers. He had 36 saves in 2009 and 22 saves in 2010, then struggled with a loss in velocity last season, pitching in only 14 games and producing a 5.68 ERA and seven saves. He had season-ending arthroscopic elbow surgery last September.

Greg Holland will be the Royals' new closer.

"He's been very solid down there," manager Ned Yost said of Holland. "He was pretty obvious for me right now. He's been pretty consistent, and we feel his stuff is all the way back to where it was last year, when he was really successful."

Holland has four major league saves, all last year.