On Monday, shortly after landing Carlos Beltran from the New York Yankees, the team with the best record in the American League acquired both Jonathan Lucroy and Jeremy Jeffress from the Milwaukee Brewers in exchange for prospects Lewis Brinson, Luis Ortiz, and a player to be named later.
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Daniels is thrilled to revamp his club and give them an opportunity to fight it out in the post-season, however it’s never easy to give up the future when doing so.
Texas also got Beltran, a proven postseason star, from the New York Yankees for righty Dillon Tate, the fourth overall pick in the 2015 amateur draft, and two other pitching prospects. It is certainly unfortunate they had to trade Tate, but also a necessary move. Beltran will slide in well to the DH position that has been a dark hole for the Rangers, this year with Prince Fielder on the disabled list. By trading just two men, Chapman and Miller, their minor league system looks to be one of the best in the league. Lucroy is 30 and would have been a free agent after next season, so the only question for Stearns was whether to trade him now or during the offseason. “I don’t view it that way at all”, the GM said. They went on to win the division and almost beat the Blue Jays in a thrilling five-game Division Series.
“While it is extremely hard to part with players the caliber of Jonathan Lucroy and Jeremy Jeffress, we are excited to add more young and talented players to the organization as we continue to build toward future winning seasons in Milwaukee”, said Stearns. “It stretches the whole lineup out, takes pressure of other guys”. Both bat left-handed.
To that I say, worry about 2018 in 2018 and try to win the World Series now. The Yankees also received two A-ball prospects in the Beltran deal, right-handed pitchers Nick Green and Erik Swanson.
When asked how the trades came about, Daniels says they knew they could make the deal with NY because Tate’s name hadn’t come up in any other discussions they were having with other clubs, notably Milwaukee. We reserve the right to edit a comment that is quoted or excerpted in an article. “We got to the point where we felt like Tate was not going to be in the Milwaukee conversation or any of the other stuff we had going on, so we just kinda pulled the trigger and got the deal done with NY, and then we moved on to try and close out the Milwaukee deal”.
Lucroy, one of the best offensive catchers in the sport, made the All-Star team last month.
Hamels was traded by Philadelphia to Texas after he had vetoed a deal that would have sent him from the Phillies to the Houston Astros, who at the time led the Rangers in the AL West. Hamels is 19-3 with 3.15 ERA in 33 starts since, including a three-hitter on the final day of the 2015 regular season to clinch the division title.
“We would like to thank Jonathan for his seven years of not only All-Star play on the field, but for the leadership and dedication that he and his wife, Sarah, displayed throughout the community”. Corner locker, kind of be a leader on the team.
“That one was challenging”, Daniels said.
What did you think of the trades?
Me, I’d probably give it a second chance.
In Lucroy, the Rangers acquire what many consider to be the second-best catcher in all of baseball, behind Buster Posey.
“Obviously, it was a very unique and stressful experience, just not knowing what’s going to happen”, Lucroy said.
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The big deal of the day, of course, was the last-minute trade with Milwaukee for catcher Lucroy and reliever Jeffress. We’ll see how bullpen roles evolve.
