The Texas Rangers acquired first baseman Mike Napoli and cash from the Boston Red Sox for a player to be named later or cash considerations, the teams announced. Rob Bradford of WEEI.com first reported Texas' acquisition of Napoli.
The 33-year-old Napoli did not garner much interest at the non-waiver trade deadline due to poor play. However, as he has played better in the past few weeks, it sparked a trade. Napoli heads back to Texas, where he spent the 2011 and 2012 seasons, to be a right-handed hitter off their bench and platoon at first base. Against left-handed pitching, the Rangers are have a dismal 84 wRC+, 24th in the big leagues. Mitch Moreland, the Rangers' left-handed starting first baseman, has been especially bad against southpaws, with a .672 OPS in 103 plate appearances against them. Napoli, on the other hand, has a .845 OPS against them, making him a perfect platoon partner. A free agent at the end of the season, Napoli made $16 million in 2014. Most, if not all of his remaining salary, will likely be picked up by the Red Sox in the trade. Overall, this season, Napoli is hitting a .207/.307/.386/.693 clip in 378 plate appearances with 13 home runs and 40 RBIs. Over the past 28 days, Napoli is hitting .258/.347/.500/.847 with three bombs and 10 runs driven in. --Devan Fink
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We are just two weeks away from the July 31 non-waive trade deadline, and one of the top pieces on the market is left-hander Cole Hamels, who the Phillies are likely to move.
According to Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com, word is that the Phillies are making "potential progress" with the Los Angeles Dodgers and Texas Rangers in trade talks for Hamels. The Dodgers, Heyman noted, have "quietly" continued making dialogue with the Phillies over Hamels. He also noted that Philadelphia has kept tabs on multiple teams' farm systems, including the Rangers' and Dodgers'. This report comes just a day following MLB.com's T.R. Sullivan's report that said that the Rangers were unlikely to land Hamels, with a Rangers source saying, "If we were going to do that trade, we would have already done it by now." With the deadline still two weeks away, the Rangers still seem like a very likely possibility for Hamels, even despite Sullivan's report. Since he's under contract through 2018, the Rangers don't have to be contenders this season in order for him to make sense. With Yu Darvish coming off the DL next season, they could trade for Hamels now and go for the postseason in 2016, '17, or '18. This season, Hamels is 5-7 with a 3.63 ERA (3.41 FIP) in 18 starts. Over 116 2/3 innings, Hamels has a very good 123 to 37 strikeout-to-walk ratio. He's one of the best pitching options on the market. --Devan Fink
The Texas Rangers could both buy and sell at the trade deadline, reports Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports.
Rosenthal notes that the Rangers could sell a starter such as Yovani Gallardo, an impending free agent, but could consider buying Cole Hamels, a pitcher under team control for the next few years. The Rangers probably won't contend this season, but with a few upgrades, could contend in the future. Yu Darvish is out for the season with the Tommy John surgery, and if they do go out and get Hamels, they would make a nice one-two punch in 2016 and beyond. Gallardo, in particular, would make a good lower-end starter for teams in need of such. The 29-year-old right-hander was traded from the Brewers to the Rangers during the offseason and has done a good job with his new team. On the season, Gallardo is 7-7 with a 2.67 ERA (3.51 FIP) in 18 starts, posting a 76 to 36 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 107 2/3 innings pitched. He is a cheap and perhaps valuable option for a team who could not get Jeff Samardzija, Johnny Cueto, or Scott Kazmir. --Devan Fink
The Detroit Tigers have announced the signing right-hander Neftali Feliz, according to Chris Iott of MLive.com. Feliz will join the team today.
The 27-year-old Feliz elected his release from the Rangers after being designated for assignment and clearing waivers. It makes sense that Feliz was picked up quickly, as the pitcher has a good pedigree, throws into the mid- and upper-90s with his fastball, and has spent time in the closer's role already. With the Rangers this season, Feliz was 1-2 with a 4.58 ERA (4.14 FIP) in 18 appearances, saving six games in nine chances. He logged 19 2/3 innings and pitched to a 16 to nine strikeout-to-walk ratio. The former Rookie of the Year award winner has had control issues throughout his career, causing him to be inconsistent. The Tigers bullpen will not need Feliz to close with Joakim Soria doing a solid job in that role. As a unit, however, the Tigers' bullpen has the sixth-highest ERA in baseball and the highest xFIP. If Detroit can find a way to fix some of Feliz's control issues, this addition of him mid-season could be a steal for them and could go a long way in improving their bullpen. --Devan Fink
Here are the latest trades that took place today involving both players and international signing money. These are notable especially in lieu of international signing day.
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