The Arizona Diamondbacks have been cleaning house before the trade deadline. Josh Naylor and Eugenio Suárez have already been shipped off to Seattle, and now Arizona has a deal in place with Texas to send Merrill Kelly to the Rangers.
So who will the Diamondbacks receive in return? According to The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal, LHP Kohl Drake and RHP David Hagaman are a part of the package heading back to Arizona. Drake is the Rangers’ fifth-ranked prospect, while Hagaman is their 13th-ranked prospect. Arizona has been building towards the future, and now they add a few more pitchers to the mix for the next few seasons. Arizona radio host John Gambadoro filled in the final piece of this trade puzzle, reporting that LHP Mitch Bratt is the final player heading from Texas to Arizona. Bratt is their ninth-ranked prospect.
Kelly will join a Rangers rotation that already includes Jacob deGrom, Nathan Eovaldi, Tyler Mahle, Patrick Corbin and Jack Leiter. Kelly has a 3.22 ERA so far in 2025, the second-best mark of his career as of yet. He’s started 22 games and has a 9-6 record as a starter. Kelly will be thrilled to join a team in the playoff hunt. Texas are 57-52 this season, holding the final Wild Card spot in the American League. They have a 2.5 game lead on the Cleveland Guardians and the rest of the chasing pack. Kelly gives the Rangers another stud in the rotation that can hopefully elevate them into a serious postseason run in October.
