Three Cheers for Jon Daniels on Soria Trade

Joakim Soria was pretty great for the Texas Rangers since winning the closer's job during spring training heading into the once promising 2014 season.

Unfortuantely, he's been one of the few bright spots in an otherwise lost season, and now he's gone after general manager Jon Daniels shipped off the rehabbed closer to bolster a Detroit Tigers bullpen for what they hope is a World Series run.

It's the official white flag of the Rangers' season, if you needed an official one. Trading Jason Frasor last week is one thing. Trading your closer is something different.

With that said, Daniels deserves a big, hearty pat on the back for the deal he made for Soria, who has an affordable club option for 2015 and could've easily been a part of the Rangers' plans next season. The Rangers received the Tigers' No. 2 and No. 4 prospects in return for Soria, a huge haul for a closer going to a somewhat desperate team with an aging owner.

Former UT closer Corey Knebel and former Rockwall Heath pitcher Jake Thompson are both coming back to Texas, and they immediately become two of the Rangers' top pitching prospects. Knebel, who has already had a swim with the Tigers this season, will be assigned to Triple-A Round Rock, but don't expect him there for too long. Thompson will go to Frisco as a starter as a guy who's allowed a grand total of three home runs in more than 90 innings this season as a dominant groundball pitcher.

It's hard to imagine how Daniels seemingly swindled the Tigers out of both of these guys, but he did, and he deserves credit. Of course, you never know how prospects will end up panning out but on paper this looks really good for Daniels and for the Rangers moving forward.

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