The Rangers are acquiring left-hander Danny Coulombe, according to a report from Jeff Passan of ESPN. The club subsequently announced the move, with left-handed pitching prospect Garrett Horn headed to the Twins in exchange for Coulombe.
Coulombe, 35, made his big league debut back in 2014 with the Dodgers. He was a fairly pedestrian middle reliever with the Dodgers and A’s throughout his 20’s, and posted a 4.27 ERA and 4.09 FIP across his first five seasons in the majors before being outrighted off the A’s roster back in 2018. He spent the 2019 season in the minors and re-emerged with the Twins during the 2020 campaign. Since then, he’s looked like an entirely different pitcher with a 2.40 ERA and 2.96 FIP across 161 1/3 innings of work between the Twins and Orioles.
Coulombe has not only avoided taking a step back as he’s aged, but he’s actually looked better than ever in his mid-30s. Over the last three seasons, Coulombe has posted a 2.17 ERA with a 2.59 FIP while striking out 27.6% of his opponents and walking just 5.9%. He’s paired that quality strikeout stuff and strong command with a knack for missing barrels with a minuscule 4.5% barrel rate to go with a 36.2% hard-hit rate, and his 3.07 SIERA in that time is on-par with top-shelf leverage relievers like David Robertson and Emmanuel Clase. This year, he’s been even better, with a microscopic 1.16 ERA and 1.96 FIP in 31 innings of work for Minnesota.
That’s a massive addition to a Rangers bullpen that has enjoyed solid seasons from players like Chris Martin and Robert Garcia. The Rangers weren’t hurting for bullpen help this season as they have been in previous years, but in a season where their offense has under-performed across the board and their rotation is stacked with elite options further strengthening the relief corps is an understandable path to take.
Coulombe was surely an extremely attractive piece for the Rangers in part because of his bargain salary. Coulombe is making just $3MM total this year, meaning the Rangers will have to pay him only around $1MM for the remainder of the season. That’s a crucial factor for a club that has remained stalwart in its desire to duck under the $241MM luxury tax threshold this year. Texas is just barely under that threshold at this point, with RosterResource suggesting they have a payroll of just over $235MM for luxury tax purposes. That’s likely slightly below where they’ll ultimately end up given the possibility of contract bonuses and incentives that will impact the final line.
As for the Twins, they’ll receive a young lefty pitcher as they continue their fire sale. A sixth-round pick in the 2024 draft by the Rangers last year, Horn has made nine starts between rookie ball and the Single-A level this season. The 22-year-old has posted a strong 2.92 ERA across 24 2/3 innings of work with a 35.4% strikeout rate, though that dominance isn’t exactly unexpected for a 22 year old in the lowest levels of the minor leagues. Still, Horn is an intriguing addition for a Twins farm system who Baseball America ranked as the #25 prospect in the Texas system this year. His mid-90s fastball is impressive, but his curveball is viewed as average at best and his changeup is completely undeveloped. He’s unlikely to be more than a reliever in the majors unless his secondary pitches develop substantially, but mid-90s velocity from the left side has a place in the majority of big league bullpens.
Kids just drafted at the start of July gonna have to fill these holes that Minnesota’s leaving
Twins are trading anything that is not nailed down.
This gives me hope that Joe Ryan might go over to my Red Sox.
False hope is all us Red Sox fans have had at recent trade deadlines. Ryan is a stud and I’d love to have him pitch for my team.
I sure hope not we will have nothing left
Probably clearing out liabilities to sell the team. I hope.
Correa was “nailed” and got traded
Can he close is the question. The Rangers need someone that can shut it down in the 9th.
Yep
The rangers have been closing by smoke / mirrors .. with solid bullpen era
Then they released a mirror in luke jackson … but coulombe can bring on some smoke
Man, I wanted him so bad.. great pickup Rangers
If you are 30 or older, the Twins want you gone!
Twins clubhouse staff are running around like crazy trying to keep up
It’s a fire sale in the Twin cities. Buxton is going to end up playing for what’s looking like another rebuilding team, and not every player thrives in that environment.
Rangers need power bullpen arms they have none,
I’m half-expecting the Twins to trade their actual ballpark at this point.
Wow.
The twins might be fire saleing so anyone not named buxton isnt safe
Ryan will probably get moved while his value is still high
Not knowing the return yet, this was the player I hoped the Tigers would acquire. They lack at least one shutdown reliever, especially a left-handed one.
Gruß,
BSHH
Now I am absolutely shocked that the Tigers did not make a better offer for Coulombe! What were they waiting for?
Gruß,
BSHH