The Rangers announced that they have sent right-handed pitcher Neil Ramirez to the Cubs, completing the July 22nd trade that sent Matt Garza to Chicago.
The Garza deal called for a player to be named later to be sent to Chicago, but with one interesting wrinkle. Theo Epstein & Co. had the choice of either acquiring Ramirez or two other hurlers from an agreed upon list of names. After giving it some thought, the Cubs opted for the former.
Ramirez, 24, was ranked as the 23rd best prospect in the Rangers' system heading into this season by Baseball America, but the publication had him as high as No. 5 at one point thanks to his strong 2011 minor league season. In 2012, his stock fell a bit as he dealt with shoulder fatigue and was demoted to Double-A to finish out the season. Ramirez was a starter during his time in the Texas system, but BA writes that the club saw his big league future in the bullpen as he had a tendency to overthink things when in the rotation.
The right-hander has spent all of 2013 with the Rangers' Double-A affiliate, posting a 3.84 ERA with 11.1 K/9 and 3.7 BB/9 in 21 starts. He'll stay at the Double-A level as he will report to the Cubs' affiliate in Tennessee, according to Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times (on Twitter).
