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In their first big move of the offseason, the Rangers went out and picked up a solid arm for their starting rotation, acquiring veteran Yovani Gallardo from the Brewers for three minor leaguers: infielder Luis Sardinas and right-handed pitchers Corey Knebel and Marcos Diplan. The deal was initially reported by Ken Rosenthal:
#Rangers on verge of trading for #Brewers’ Yovani Gallardo, sources tell me and @jonmorosi.
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) January 18, 2015
While the returning players were announced by Jeff Passan...
Source: Yovani Gallardo to Rangers deal is done. Brewers get back IF Luis Sardinas, RP Corey Knebel and 18-year-old RHP Marcos Diplan. — Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) January 19, 2015
Although they are coming off a 95-loss season, the Rangers didn’t really need to do too much housecleaning, considering the historic amount of injuries they dealt with in 2014. In fact, they were so banged up that they actually set a major league record for amount of players used in one season -- a dubious feat they accomplished with about a full month left in the campaign.
Of course, a lot of those injuries left their starting pitching in shambles. Derek Holland infamously foreshadowed this trend when he fell down the stairs in his home last offseason, damaging the cartilage in his left knee and ultimately missing all but the final month of the 2014 season. The ace of the rotation, Yu Darvish, managed to stay healthy until the injury bug caught him in the form of elbow inflammation, and he, too, was sidelined for a considerable amount of time. Furthermore, the Rangers lost Matt Harrison (Back surgery) and Martin Perez (Tommy John surgery) early on for the year as well, and neither is expected to be ready for Opening Day.
As a result, the Rangers had to lean heavily on the likes of Nick Martinez, Nick Tepesch, Miles Mikolas, and Robbie Ross to carry the rotation, which is why ended up with the worst record in the American League despite a 13-game stretch late in the schedule where they went 12-1.
The arrival of Gallardo is accompanied by a salary escalator, as reported by Jon Morosi of Fox Sports:
Yovani Gallardo's contract includes trade kicker that increases his base salary from $13 million to $14 million this year, source says.
— Jon Morosi (@jonmorosi) January 19, 2015
The deal brings not only an effective starter who usually has solid numbers, but also a durable, reliable player. Gallardo has made 30 or more starts in six straight seasons, and this past year, despite a career-low eight wins, the 28-year-old right-hander posted a respectable 3.51 ERA, 1.29 WHIP, and a 146:54 K:BB ratio, representing his lowest walk total over the past six years.
Milwaukee reeled in a decent haul for him, as Sardinas displayed flashes of promise last year in his rookie showing. While he has very minimal power, he can hit for contact and produced a .261/.303/.313 line in 2014. However, he’s more so known for his steady glove and base-running, as he does possess two seasons of 30-plus steals in the minors. At the very least, he projects as a backup utility infielder.
Knebel, meanwhile, got his first taste of the bigs last year also, which came during his tenure in Detroit, and although the numbers weren’t pretty (6.23 ERA, 1.65 WHIP in 8 2/3 IP), it’s a very small sample size. His outstanding minor league numbers are what Brewer fans should be excited about, as he owns a 1.65 ERA, 0.90 WHIP, and 12.3 K/9 in 65 minor league appearances, and his hard-throwing repertoire has some people believing he has the potential to be an effective closer, if not a useful late-inning reliever.
Diplan is easily the most unknown out of Milwaukee’s newest additions, being only 18-years-old and having just one season of experience in the Dominican summer league under his belt. He made 13 starts and finished with a 1.54 ERA and 57:36 K:BB ratio, but is said to be very raw and years away from any potential contributions to a major league club.
At the end of the day, this scores a very nice move for the Rangers for their starting pitching. While Gallardo is set to be a free agent after this season, he is a native of Fort Worth, Texas, perhaps giving general manager Jon Daniels extra leverage in trying to lock him up at season’s end with a long-term deal. As for the Brewers, time will tell on the quality of minor leaguers they brought in, but it looked like they weren’t going to sign Gallardo beyond 2015 anyway.
