What started as a quiet trade deadline for the Texas Rangers ended with a major shake-up in the pitching market, as the team reportedly acquired standout starter Merrill Kelly from the Arizona Diamondbacks.
Just under an hour before the deadline, ESPN’s Jeff Passan broke the news that Texas landed the 36-year-old right-hander in exchange for three of their top prospects: No. 5 Kohl Drake, No. 9 Mitch Bratt, and No. 13 David Hagaman.
Kelly, who becomes a free agent after the season, has posted a 9–6 record with a 3.22 ERA, 121 strikeouts, and a 1.06 WHIP over 128 2/3 innings this year.
Kelly now joins a stacked Rangers rotation that already includes Nathan Eovaldi, Jacob deGrom, and a resurgent Patrick Corbin—arguably making it one of the strongest in baseball.
Texas fans will remember Kelly’s dominance in the 2023 World Series, where he held the Rangers to just one run over seven innings in Arizona’s only win.
Merrill Kelly
This marks Texas’ second deal in the final hours before the deadline, having earlier picked up lefty reliever Danny Coulombe from the Twins.
Questions still linger—are the Rangers making financial sacrifices to pull this off? Has ownership given Chris Young the green light to go over the luxury tax? Are more moves coming?
One thing’s clear: the Rangers aren’t done yet, and with the AL West heating up fast, the trade deadline just exploded.
