Rangers Trade Yu Darvish To Dodgers
By Josh Clark
DALLAS (105.3 The Fan) - The Texas Rangers traded Yu Darvish to the Los Angeles Dodgers just as time expired on Monday's 3 p.m. trade deadline.
The Rangers will receive second-baseman/outfielder Willie Calhoun, pitcher A.J. Alexy and shortstop Brendon Davis in the deal. Calhoun is the 69th overall prospect, according to MLB Pipeline.
Additionally, Calhoun is the Dodgers No. 4 ranked prospect, Alexy is their No. 17 ranked prospect, and Davis is their 27th ranked prospect, according to MLB Pipeline.
Calhoun, 22, was selected in the 4th round of the 2015 draft out of Yavapai College in Arizona.
According to MLB.com, Calhoun "has a quick bat and a knack for making contact, and he might do even more damage once he learns to wait a little better for pitches he can drive. He could be a .280 hitter with 20 or more homers per season at his peak."
The 20 home runs would be good for a second-baseman, however, Calhoun isn't great defensively and has already started getting action in left field.
Calhoun is hitting .302 with 23 home runs and 67 RBI in 364 at-bats at Triple-A Oklahoma City.
Alexy, 19, was drafted in the 11th round of the 2016 draft out of Twin Valley High School in Pennslyvania.
He is 2-6 with a 3.67 ERA in 18 starts with the Dodgers Low-A club.
Davis, 20, was taken in the fifth round of the 2015 draft out of Lakewood High School in California.
He has nine home runs and 43 RBI in 340 at-bats between the Dodgers' low and high-A ballclubs.
With Texas 5 1/2 games back in the wild card race, the Rangers ultimately decided to trade their ace.
In his six seasons in Texas, Darvish went 53-39 with a 3.42 ERA, striking out 960 hitters in 782.2 innings pitched.
The right-hander missed the entire 2015 season after undergoing Tommy John surgery. He returned to the mound in 2016 and went 7-5 with a 3.41 ERA.
Darvish has had an up and down 2017 season to this point. He currently holds a 4.01 ERA, although that number jumped nearly half a point after he allowed 10 earned runs to the Miami Marlins in his most recent start. The Japanese native is 6-9 this season but hasn't gotten any run support from Rangers' hitters. The Texas offense averages 3.4 runs per Darvish start, which is tied for the third lowest among qualifying starting pitchers.
Is this goodbye, forever? It doesn't have to be. Darvish could theoretically re-sign with Texas in the off-season and the club has repeatedly said they'd like to see him return.
When asked after being traded if he'd have an interest in returning to Texas in the offseason, Darvish said he'd be willing to consider the Rangers as long as they made a competitive offer.
Rangers General Manager Jon Daniels discussed the Darvish trade with The Ben and Skin Show later on Monday on 105.3 The Fan:
