Aggressive Texas Rangers add two more rental arms to the mix

Chris Young (CY) has made it clear that his philosophy is that a team cannot have too much pitching, and he is putting his idea into practice. As injuries and inconsistent performance have plagued the Texas Rangers pitching staff for quite a while, owner Ray Davis charged CY with going out and getting the pieces that will get this team, back on the winning track.

Texas Rangers make trade for top starting pitcher, Jordan Montgomery

Two more arms were traded for on Sunday, as the Rangers sent prospects RHP Tekoah Roby, infielder Thomas Saggese, along with LHP John King to St. Louis in exchange for LHP Jordan Montgomery and RHP Chris Stratton. Montgomery is a starting pitcher that many people viewed as one of the top arms that could be available at the trade deadline. Stratton is a reliever, and both will be rentals as their contracts are up at the end of the season.

Montgomery is the center piece of the trade, and this marks the second year in a row that he has been moved mid-season. Last year the New York Yankees traded Montgomery to St. Louis in exchange for outfielder, Harrison Badar. St Louis went 8-3 in the games that Montgomery started at the end of last year, while he posted a 3.11 ERA.

This season started out a little slow for him as he had a 4.55 ERA in his first ten starts. Since then, he has been pitching great. Over Montgomery's last 11 starts, he has thrown 65 2/3 innings, has 56 strikeouts, 19 walks, and a 2.47 ERA, which brings his season ERA to 3.42. Montgomery is a very good pitcher, that is on a heater. The Rangers will hope to be able to ride his hot arm to several wins over the next two months, and hopefully well into the playoffs.

Stratton isn't an Aroldis Chapman type addition for the bullpen at all, but the soon to be 33-year-old should provide some more depth to a pen that has struggled nearly the entire season. In his eight-year career, Stratton has logged 516 innings pitched, with 53 2/3 coming this year. He was taken by the Giants with the 20th pick in the first round of the 2012 draft. Stratton's first big league manager was, you guessed it, Bruce Bochy.

Texas Rangers being aggressive at the trade deadline

The Rangers are being aggressive at the trade deadline this year, and rightly so. They have a solid team and are adding pieces that are intended to push them to the next level. The new additions of front-line starter Jordan Montgomery and reliever Chris Stratton are the next duo of rental arms brought on to bring more wins to Arlington.

Time will tell if this was a good move or not, but in this moment, it seems like a good move. Perhaps it is a slight overpay for rentals, but with the current demand for quality arms, CY had to make some moves or else be left behind in both the AL West and the AL in general. One thing is certain, it is more fun to be buyers than to be sellers at the trade deadline.