'Buy' Buxton's AL Comeback Player of the Year odds
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
15 hours ago
- Yahoo
Rangers finalize Merrill Kelly trade with Diamondbacks
The post Rangers finalize Merrill Kelly trade with Diamondbacks appeared first on ClutchPoints. The Texas Rangers drastically improved their chances of making a run at the American League West on Thursday, pulling off a blockbuster trade with the Arizona Diamondbacks. The Rangers acquired right-handed starting pitcher Merrill Kelly, who is having another stellar year, for three prospects. Kelly, the 36-year-old veteran, is having one of the best seasons of his career. In 22 starts, he is 9-6 with a 3.22 ERA and an even more impressive 1.06 WHIP (walks+hits per inning pitched). He has also racked up 121 strikeouts over 128.1 innings this season. The Houston, Texas native did not even make his big league debut until he was 30 years old. That partially explains his resurgence with the Diamondbacks over the last couple of years. He will likely slot right in near third in the Rangers' rotation that is already stacked at the top. Jacob deGrom is having a Cy Young-type season, going 10-3 with a 2.55 ERA and 0.92 WHIP. Nathan Eovaldi has arguably been the best second-pitcher in the majors this year, boasting a 9-3 record with a 1.49 ERA and 0.89 WHIP. Tyler Mahle was having a solid season prior to going down with a shoulder injury. He is slated to begin a throwing program sometime next week, but is still a ways away from a return. Jack Leiter rounds out the rotation upon Kelly's arrival. But he would likely be the odd man out were the Rangers to make the postseason. Texas sits five games back of the division-leading Houston Astros with two months left to play in the regular season. The Astros were also very busy at the MLB trade deadline, including bringing Carlos Correa back to H-Town. In return, the D'Backs landed some serious pitching talent. They acquired three pitching prospects- LHP Cole Drake (AAA #5 prospect, 3.10 ERA 15 GS 6'5), LHP Mitch Bratt (AA #9) RHP David Hagaman (A #13). But Texas was not done making moves with the Kelly trade. They strengthened their bullpen, acquiring relief pitcher Phil Maton from the St. Louis Cardinals, per Jeff Passan. Related: Grading the Yankees trade with Giants for Camilo Doval Related: Cedric Mullins trade grades for Mets, Orioles
Yahoo
20 hours ago
- Yahoo
Rangers' deGrom Breaks Randy Johnson's Record With Fastest Road To 1,800 Career Strikeouts
Texas Rangers starting pitcher Jacob deGrom made baseball history as the fastest pitcher ever to reach 1,800 strikeouts, but a tough divisional loss to the Seattle Mariners marred his record-setting day. On Sunday afternoon, the ace right-hander struck out Mariners shortstop J.P. Crawford in the second inning, etching his name into the record books by reaching 1,800 career K's in just 240 games and 1,493 1/3 innings. The previous best marks belonged to Hall of Famer Randy Johnson, who hit the milestone in 243 games, and Chris Sale, who did it in 1,498 innings. Rather than addressing the historic achievement, deGrom focused on the loss to the Mariners and said the Rangers 'needed to win' that game. 'We need to win series. Once we lost the first two, we needed to at least split here. Like I said, I came out and threw the ball terribly. It's on me. We gotta go back home and get back on track,' he said, according to Rangers Manager Bruce Bochy acknowledged it was a difficult road trip for both deGrom and the club, which left Texas 2-5 after stops in Anaheim and Seattle. 'We lost some tough games. Today was another one. They're battling out there. I'll say that it was a tough day for Jacob. He was off with this command that was evident. … There's no use dwelling on it, you know? I think that's fair to say that it could have been different. This road trip today was a tough one,' he said, per Moving forward, Texas will have to string together some wins if it hopes to make the postseason as an American League wild-card team. Currently, the Rangers have an overall record of 58-55, which leaves them two games behind the Mariners for the last spot in the postseason. Additionally, the Rangers have lost every regular-season series against the Mariners this year, meaning the team must finish with a better overall record to claim the final spot, as any tie will go in favor of Seattle. The good news is that this team still has 49 games remaining in the regular season, meaning the various pitching additions will have an opportunity to step in and make an impact for a team looking to eventually make a deep postseason run.
NBC Sports
a day ago
- NBC Sports
Big 12 champion race 'wide open' this season
Trysta Krick and Vaughn Dalzell explain why the Big 12 champion race is "wide open," picking Utah as a favorite due to their home schedule, elite defense, and strong offensive line.
