More reports are out this beautiful Monday morning that the Texas Rangers have a deal in principle with the Milwaukee Brewers to acquire veteran starting pitcher Yovani Gallardo for an undisclosed return. According to several national and local reports, the deal is simply pending a medical review.
Gallardo's acquisition, if finalized, will greatly change the face of the Rangers' starting rotation, which was clearly the biggest question mark on the roster beforehand. He's a groundball pitcher with a nice track record of durability and despite a "bad year" last season for the Brewers, he still posted a 3.69 ERA.
Gallardo's a Fort Worth resident in the offseason and went to Trimble Tech High School, and he has a past with Rangers pitching coach Mike Maddux, who held the same position with the Brewers before he came to Texas.
For the short term, Gallardo would slide into the No. 3 spot in the Rangers' rotation and be a great No. 3 behind Yu Darvish and Derek Holland, with Colby Lewis coming in behind him at No. 4 and any number of names being considered for the fifth spot, led by Ross Detwiler and Nick Tepesch.
Gallardo is a free agent after this season, but reports say the Rangers are confident they can lock him up on a long-term deal in his hometown.
So what will the Rangers be giving up for Gallardo? Given the fact he's not controlled beyond this coming season, it wouldn't be a whole lot, and definitely wouldn't include any of the Rangers' top five prospects. It would likely include the Rangers' most appealing piece beyond those five in middle infield prospect Luis Sardinas, who made his big-league debut in 2014 and showed some flashes of great things to come before ultimately losing out to fellow prospect Rougned Odor. Sardinas would likely front the deal and be included with a mid-level pitching prospect.
So it wouldn't be a huge bounty for the Brewers, and if the Rangers could lock up Gallardo beyond 2015, it could end up being a really nice deal to solidify the Rangers' rotation for the long term, especially when Martin Perez returns from Tommy John surgery presumably sometime this summer.
