To end the MLB trade deadline, the Rangers acquired Texas native Mike Adams, a right-handed pitcher from the San Diego Padres. In return, they gave up two prospects in Robbie Erlin as well as Joe Wieland. Wieland definitely helped this trade go through after pitching a no-hitter in his last outing.

Adams has gone 3-1 this season with a 1.13 ERA allowing just six earned runs over 48 innings in 48 appearances of relief for the San Diego Padres. He has recorded only nine walks and has struck out 49 batters. He has one save in 23 holds and has completed five games. His 1.13 ERA is the third lowest in the Majors among relief pitchers and the second in the NL. He has held opponents to a .197 on-base percentage, which only ranks him behind Sergio Romo of the San Francisco Giants and the Rangers newcomer and now fellow teammate Koji Uehara.

For those of you that are unhappy that Heath Bell didn’t make his way to the Rangers in the place of Mike Adams, don’t be. Heath Bell would have unlikely stayed with the Rangers after this season as he was headed into free agency while Adams will be a Rangers at least through 2012 unless something happens between now and then. Plus, Adams really is the better pitcher.

The Rangers may also be thinking into the future a little bit. Grabbing Bell could mean that they lose their addition (just like last season with Cliff Lee) leaving a hole in their bullpen. If the Rangers decide to move Feliz around and possibly into starting rotation, the Rangers will need a solid closer to fill the shoes of Neftali and Adams may be that man – who will be there next year and not a free agent. All in all, good trade in my eyes.

The addition of Mike Adams and Koji Uehara have definitely improved their bullpen significantly and I’d like to say has diminished any bullpen concerns that the Rangers would have had this second half of the season. With these additions, I can safely say that they are well on their way to another playoff berth…and hopefully a World Series win this go-around!

What are your thoughts? What do you think about these late-inning editions? It’s definitely a fearsome trio in Koji Uehara, Mike Adams and Neftali Feliz (on his good days)!

Leonys Martin CF – Martin was a international free-agent the Rangers signed early in the year. In 29 games with Double-A Frisco Martin’s offensive line was .348/.435/.571 and featured a stunning OPS of 1.100. I’ve spoken to people in Frisco who just couldn’t stop talking about him. He’s a quick fielder and an impressive bat. As a result Martin earned a promotion to the Triple-A Round Rock Express, where hopefully I’ll get more chances to see him in person.

Robert Erlin P – Erlin earned a promotion to Frisco after starting the season with Myrtle Beach. With the RoughRiders Robbie is 5-and-0 with an ERA of 3.70 and a WHIP of 1.089. The impressive number for Erlin is his strikeout-to-walk ratio which is currently 8.0. With Frisco he has picked up 48 strikeouts while allowing only 6 walks. (more…)

With the Pelicans, Erlin threw 54.2 innings. He had the league leading WHIP (walks plus hits per innings pitched) with .549. He earned an ERA of 2.14 and averaged 10.2 strikeouts per nine innings. His strike to ball ratio was 12.40. This was just a truly impressive group of stats from a player who earned his promotion.

Robbie Erlin in his Frisco Debut (Photo: James Garner from the RoughRiders Extra Bases Blog)

This afternoon in his Double-A debut Robbie Erlin picked up the win. The lefthander went 6.2 innings allowing six hits and three runs. Erlin had three strikeouts and allowed one walk. His ERA to begin his AA tenure is 4.26, and will certainly improve from there. The ‘Riders put enough offense behind him , eventually going on to win the game 9 to 3.

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