The Rangers announced the acquisition of starting pitcher Merrill Kelly from the Diamondbacks for pitching prospects Mitch Bratt, Kohl Drake and David Hagaman. Texas designated first baseman Blaine Crim for assignment to open a spot on the 40-man roster.
Kelly is the most significant of three deadline pickups for the Rangers. They also deepened their bullpen by adding Phil Maton and Danny Coulombe. The Rangers leaned even harder into their identity as a pitching and defense team after evidently being dissatisfied with the asking prices on top hitters.
The 36-year-old Kelly was arguably the best rental starter who changed hands. He has turned in a 3.22 earned run average through 128 2/3 innings. That comes with a solid 23.5% strikeout percentage and a league average 7.4% walk rate. Kelly doesn’t have massive swing-and-miss stuff, but he’s a plus command artist with a long track record of mid-rotation performance. This will his third sub-4.00 ERA season within the past four years. Last year’s 4.03 earned runs per nine is his worst mark since 2021.
That’s rock solid production that’ll make Kelly a high-end #3 starter in Texas. He’d slot behind Jacob deGrom and Nathan Eovaldi as the expected playoff rotation if the Rangers qualify. They have plenty of work to do in that regard — they’re currently tied with Seattle for the final AL Wild Card position — but opponents would have a very tough time scoring against them in October. Patrick Corbin and Jack Leiter figure to round out the starting five for the time being. That could push Kumar Rocker back to Triple-A.
Kelly is playing on a $7MM salary. It’s the final year of what turned out to be a very team-friendly extension that he signed with the Snakes early in the ’22 season. Texas is taking on roughly $2.22MM for the stretch run. They also added around $950K on Coulombe’s deal and picked up roughly $634K on Maton. The Rangers have wanted to stay underneath the $241MM base luxury tax threshold. RosterResource unofficially estimates them around $236M. The actual number is likely to be above that by season’s end as players trigger incentives, but it seems the Rangers at least stayed on the border of the threshold while making a trio of acquisitions on the pitching staff.
Arizona had already dealt Eugenio Suárez and Josh Naylor as they sold off most of their impending free agents. The biggest question on deadline day was whether they’d trade both Kelly and Zac Gallen. Ultimately, they only found what they considered a satisfactory offer on Kelly. Gallen will finish the season in the desert and quite likely receive and reject a qualifying offer. The D-Backs valued the compensatory draft pick they’d receive in that scenario more than whatever teams were willing to trade for Gallen, who has underperformed this season.
Kelly’s superior year allowed the Snakes to get a trio of minor league arms. They focused their trade returns on upper level young pitching. Drake, a 6’5″ left-hander, is the highest regarded of their new prospects. He placed fifth in the Texas system at MLB Pipeline and ninth at Baseball America. BA feels the former 11th-round pick projects as a multi-inning reliever, while Pipeline projects him as a back-end starter.
Drake has struggled over four Triple-A starts but turned in a 2.44 ERA through 12 appearances in Double-A. He sits around 93 MPH and has a four-pitch mix with advanced command. He’s 24 years old and will need to be added to the 40-man roster this offseason to keep him out of the Rule 5 draft. He should debut at some point next year at the latest.
Bratt, 22, is a 6’1″ lefty who was selected out of high school in the 2021 draft. The Canadian southpaw has spent the whole season at Double-A Frisco. He has pitched to a 3.18 ERA with a plus 28.5% strikeout percentage and minuscule 4.3% walk rate in 18 appearances. Bratt placed ninth in the system at Pipeline and 14th at Baseball America. He’s a good athlete with above-average to plus command but fringe stuff that could make him a fifth starter. He’ll also need to go on the 40-man roster this offseason.
The 22-year-old Hagaman is a little further off. He was a fourth-round pick out of West Virginia last summer. He underwent Tommy John surgery last year and has been limited to eight professional appearances. Both BA and Pipeline ranked him in the middle third of the Rangers’ top 30 prospects. The 6’4″ righty has an impressive three-pitch arsenal but struggled with command in college. He could be a long-term reliever but will get a chance to develop as a starter.
Arizona’s player development staff now has a lot of young pitching talent with which to work. Most of those players could be on the MLB radar by next season. In the meantime, veteran righty Anthony DeSclafani will stretch out from long relief to take Kelly’s rotation spot (relayed by Alex Weiner of Arizona Sports). He has a 3.86 ERA in 23 1/3 frames and should be a serviceable innings source so the D-Backs don’t need to press their younger arms into early action.
As for Crim, he’ll be placed on waivers in the next few days. The 28-year-old first baseman got a brief look earlier in the season when the Rangers optioned Jake Burger to Triple-A. He went 1-11 with a walk. Crim has a career .283/.374/.487 batting line in more than 1600 plate appearances at the top minor league level.
John Gambadoro of Arizona Sports 98.5 first reported the Rangers were nearing a Kelly deal. ESPN’s Jeff Passan confirmed there was an agreement in place. Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reported that Arizona was acquiring three prospects, including Drake and Hagaman. Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic was first on Bratt’s inclusion. Image courtesy of Charles Leclaire, Imagn Images.
Wow. That’s actually really surprising. Wonder what the package looks like!
Probably a broken bat and a used pine tar rag
You’d need locker room access to know.
You’re on fire Meow
Ewwww.
Fine, more for me.
Wow
Think Rocker still holds a rotation spot?
I suspect Mahle likely comes back to the pen. Likely rotation is:
DeGrom
Eovaldi
Kelly
Corbin
Leiter
Not sure about Rocker. They have options, until DeGrom caps out on innings.
No cap on DeGrom, he’d have a big issue with being capped at age 37 in a Cy Young bid.
Gray, Rocker and Mahle to the bullpen with that rotation, Burger loses 15 lbs and rakes like a craps table. Rangers are contenders.
Mahle is not going to the pen.
I doubt Corbin is, and Leiter certainly isn’t.
Corbin has been great all season.
Innings caps also don’t work. Inning restrictions haven’t resulted in less injuries.
my dbacks need to also unload gallen makes no sense to keep him. Kelly eovaldi degrom if healthy are insane!
Gallen is going to be a little harder and I don’t see a great return on him just because of the season he is having. DBacks may just hang on to him and get a pick for him at the next draft.
That indeed is a tough G1-3 in reverse order if healthy and they make it.
Someone needs to wake up Breslow.
He’s an absolute joke at the deadline. I give him credit for some of the off-season moves but man his deadline moves leave a lot to be desired. Now there’s still time, but man…
There’s always Posey to complain about lol
There’s about 20 minutes, if anything was imminent we likely would’ve heard about it by now.
Breslow ain’t giving up on Ryan!
Don’t worry. They’re interested in Ryan, and that’s as far as it’ll go.
Instead they got Dustin may…. For some reason.
Maybe they’ve discovered some radical new medical procedure that will allow them to take parts of Walker Buehler and Dustin May and Steven Matz and fuse them together into one good pitcher.
Probably looking at the usual narrative that Campbell is the 1B bat we need and Harrison is the SP we need. Wish they actually made some moves for a team with solid potential.
Seriously, is this mf napping or something? Every single other team in the mix is loading up, and we get Steven Matz and decide to call it a day? Absolutely pathetic.
Supposedly the SOX are making a late push for Joe Ryan.
Sure, just like they were for Merrill Kelly. It’ll be the same old story about how “interested” they were, but ultimately unable to find “alignment.”
… maybe Dustin May?
SD and Texas are the clear winners of the trade deadline.
I think the Padres won the deadline so far but they gutted their system to do it.
I feel like they gut the system every couple years and somehow always have a great farm system. They are just a really well run team.
They are not a well run team. The last few years they increased payroll and decided to sell the farm for a chance to win now. It makes sense, especially because the Padres have never won a championship, but that doesnt make them a well run team.
Please. Amazing draft after amazing draft. Always loaded with top 100s even tho Preller trades like a maniac.
They aren’t loaded with top 100s anymore.
His point is that they will be again in about 2 years. Most organizations would take at least 5 years to rebuild that type of prospect capital.
And if the Padres just kept their prospects instead of trading them away think of where they could be.
Thats my point……
How many of them have panned out?
I bet DeVries ends up being pretty good.
James Wood
McKenzie Gore
You may not know this but Seidler was dying and wanted to bring home a championship before he passed away.
They spent a ton in the last couple years and gutted their farm not because they aren’t a well run team, but because he wanted to give the Padres fans a chance to see a ring before he died.
Seidler is royalty here in San Diego (as he should be). I met his wife and watched a spring training game with her and Mike schlidt’s wife. Both are top notch people
Also Seidler had to buy the other owners shares in order to be willing to spend. San Diego fans will probably never have a better owner. RIP
I do know that
He’s now dead. And they are still doing the same thing.
So what are you talking about?
Yankees Bednar and hitters did well. Seattle 2 big bats and reliever. Philly Bader elite closer Duran. I can’t even remember all the moves as they came fast and furious. No time to digest. Mets boosted bullpen. Lot of teams really want to win
True. Must be nice.
Not really the team that needed him the most. You dont really need 4 stud starters in October.
You typically use 4 starters in the playoffs, right? He’ll be #3 for Texas.
You barely need 4. And who is he ahead of Mahle or Eovaldi?
I wonder if this is a sign that the Rangers are about to move Gray to save money and pickup another bullpen piece.
Wake Up Jed, you’re losing the deadline
John “Gambo” Gambadoro!
Somebody please go wake up Craig Breslow
Come on, Breslow, it’s your move…
So Rangers are now the 2024 Mariners. All pitch, no hit.
They’ve been doing fine lately. As long as Joc and/or Burger aren’t in the lineup
From the upgrades Hou and Sea made, this signing is a waste. He should have gone to an actual contender. Tex only shot is going to be a wild card against either Bos, NY, Tor, Sea or Hou.
Still have to play the games. Nothing is decided at the TDL.
If they end up playing Bos, NY, Tor, Sea, Hou in a shortened series, they have deGrom, Eovaldi, Kelly going in games 1-3 now.
That’s my point. Detroit had a chance to get someone to remedy that and they didn’t.
Hate to see Merrill leave. He is the one guy that may re-sign with the Dbacks in the off-season. Went to HS in Phoenix. Also played at Yavapai College and ASU.
I love seeing a guy being able to spend his career where he is from. The Cincinnati Bengals old punter Kevin Huber went to a Cincinnati area high school McNicholas and then to the University of Cincinnati and played his whole career with the Bengals. He never had to leave home once from youth football to the NFL.
He can come back in 3 months
He very well could, and that would be my second favorite scenario. Favorite would be that he really likes pitching next to deGrom and Eovaldi with a really good defense behind him. I wanted Kelly this offseason already, now I want him to do well and stay even more
The guy i hoped the Sox would get. Maybe Gallen or Alcantara now, probably no one as Breslow already added Alcala, Harrison, Hicks, and Matz.
Good pickup for the Rangers. The AL West has gotten very interesting today
Heard they are getting 3 pitching prospects back from the Rangers for Merrill Kelly
Not a bad looking return. It will look even better if Merrill re-signs with us.
Brelsow’s like “What? We got Jordan Hicks!”
NGL as a dbacks fan this one hurts the most. Kelly is as steady as they come and a great guy.
A for Arizona. Probably more a B but that doesn’t have same ring. 2 starter prospects. Pen risk sure but legit starter chance.
C Texas. What it cost. Can afford to lose and replace.
Not sure that I see how this is a C for Texas. Care to expand?
They gave up fair market value. No more no less.
Sad we’re giving up Kohl Drake
I’m a little bummed. He’s more a command over stuff kind of guy, probably backend starter at best. The Rangers don’t have a good track record of finishing starters, sometimes trade bait is the best they will get.
3 pitchers for one, when it likely doesn’t matter… Ask cle how all pitching and no offense works in the playoffs… Yes we have a better offense than that, but everyone else also got better so it’s like a push
Prospects are fun, but Texas likely trade a possible back end rotation guy and a couple low leverage relievers. Could change, but could also be none of them do anything in the majors. We’ll see.
Wonder how much he has left in his tank?
Rangers with the buzzer beater.
It’s surprising that Crim hasn’t gotten more of a chance at the MLB level. He’s absolutely mashed at all levels in college and the minors. Maybe he’s just a AAAA player, but I would have though the Rangers could have given him a longer trial period given they need a right handed bat.
This is the weird thing. I think I’m more upset about Crim than any of the 3 players we included in the trade.
Solid pitcher but geez that was a steep price to pay
It really wasn’t that steep. Drake and Bratt profile as back of the rotation starters and Hagaman is a bit of a wildcard at this point. The Red Sox could have and should have beaten this offer.
I guess it was! Kelly is a free agent at seasons end. Unless im mistaken, those picks were top 10s in their system
He’s the arm I had thought the Mets should’ve gone after. Not an ace, but a more than solid three that won’t be on the books after the year and would certainly give them enough padding to make it to the playoffs. Manaea, Senga, Peterson, and Kelly would be a nice playoff staff. Holmes seems to be wearing down and Montas is useless.