The Rangers have acquired lefty starter Matt Harrison and lefty reliever Beau Jones to complete the Mark Teixeira trade.  Harrison was the Braves #3 rated prospect coming into the season according to Baseball America.  Harrison has started 20 games in AA ball so far this season and he was 5-7 with a 3.39 ERA and a 1.30 WHIP.  In 116.2 innings this season he has allowed 118 hits, walked 34 batters and whiffed 78.  Beau Jones is a 20 year old lefty who was 5-0 with 3 saves, a 4.63 ERA and a 1.31 WHIP in 26 games (1 start).  He has thrown 56.1 innings and he has allowed 48 hits, walked 26 batters and whiffed 49.  This was quite a haul by the Rangers as their future now appears much brighter than it did only 24 hours ago.

The Rangers have traded Eric Gagne to the Red Sox for lefty starting pitcher Kason Gabbard and outfielder David Murphy and Engel Beltre.  Gagne had a strong season for the Rangers this year as he was 2-0 with 16 saves, a 2.20 ERA and a 1.05 WHIP in 34 games.  Gagne has thrown 33.1 innings this season and he allowed only 23 hits and walked 12 batters while whiffing 29.  The Rangers will likely replace Gagne with a committee approach until Akinori Otsuka is ready to return from the DL.

Kason Gabbard will likely move right into the Rangers starting rotation.  He started 7 games for the Red Sox this season and he was 4-0 with a 3.73 ERA and a 1.12 WHIP.  He has tossed 41 innings this year and he only has allowed 28 hits, walked 18 batters and whiffed 29.  25 year old lefty swinging David Murphy will also probably join the Rangers soon and get some playing time in the outfield.  He has played in 100 games in AAA ball this season and he was 112 for 400 (.280 avg, .769 OPS) with 50 runs, 9 homers, 47 RBIs and 8 stolen bases.  Murphy was ranked as the Red Sox #15 prospect in their minor league system and 17 year old Engel Beltre was ranked as their #17 prospect.  The lefty swinging Beltre has played in 33 Rookie League games this season and he was 26 for 121 (.217 avg, .728 OPS) with 20 runs scored, 5 homers, 13 RBIs and 6 stolen bases.  This looks like another nice haul for the Rangers.

The Rangers have traded 1B Mark Teixeira and lefty reliever Ron Mahay to the Atlanta Braves for catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia, shortstop Elvis Andrus, righty starter Neftali Feliz and a player to be named later.  Teixeira had to go because he had made it known that he was not happy in Texas and that he was going to leave as a free agent after the 2008 season.  He played in 78 games this season for the Rangers and he was 85 for 286 (.297 avg, .921 OPS) with 48 runs scored, 13 homers and 49 RBIs.  In 4.5 seasons with the Rangers Teixeira played in 693 games and he was 746 for 2,632 (.283 avg, .901 OPS) with 426 runs scored, 153 homers and 499 RBIs.  Mahay pitched in 28 games for the Rangers this season and he was 2-0 with 1 save, a 2.77 ERA and a 1.38 WHIP.  He has thrown 39 innings this season and he has allowed 33 hits, walked 21 batters and whiffed 32.

The Rangers got themselves a pretty healthy haul for Teixeira and Mahay.  Jarrod Saltalamacchia will likely replace Gerald Laird as the Rangers starting catcher from day #1.  He was ranked as the Braves best prospect in their entire minor league system before the season started.  He played in 47 games for the Braves this season and he was 40 for 141 (.284 avg, .744 OPS) with 11 runs scored, 4 homers and 12 RBIs.  Elvis Andrus is an 18 year old shortstop who was ranked as the #2 prospect in the Braves entire minor league system according to Baseball America.  Andrus has played in 99 games in A-ball this season and he was 94 for 385 (.244 avg, .665 OPS) with 59 runs scored, 3 homers, 37 RBIs and 25 stolen bases.  Neftali Feliz is a 19 year old righty starter who was ranked as the #18 prospect in the Braves system according to Baseball America.  Feliz has pitched in 7 games (6 starts) in the Rookie League and he is 2-0 with a 2.05 ERA and a 1.06 WHIP.  In 26.1 innings Feliz has allowed only 16 hits, walked 12 batters and whiffed 28.

The firesale of the Texas Rangers has officially begun with the trade of Kenny Lofton to the Indians for Single-A catcher Max Ramirez.  Lofton played great for the Rangers this season as he played in 84 games and he went 96 for 317 (.303 avg, .818 OPS).  Lofton scored 62 runs, whacked 7 homers, drove in 23 runs and swiped 21 bases for the Rangers.  Max Ramirez is a fine looking hitter but he’s likely a couple of years away from entering the major leagues.  The 22 year old righty swinger has played in 77 A-Ball games and he is 84 for 277 (.303 avg, .923 OPS) with 46 runs scored, 12 homers and 62 RBIs.  This was just the first of many moves that will likely happen by next Tuesday’s trade deadline.

The Rangers finally figured out that Robinson Tejada wasn’t going to turn his season around at the major league level so they sent him to the minor leagues.  Tejada started 19 games this season for the Rangers and he was 5-9 with a 6.61 ERA and a 1.78 WHIP.  In 95.1 innings this season Tejada allowed 110 hits, 17 homers, walked 60 batters and whiffed 69.  He could return at some point to the Rangers later this season if he shows progress in the minor leagues.  Lefty John Rheinecker will replace Tejada in the rotation.  He has started 1 game this season for the Rangers and he has pitched 3 innings and he has allowed 7 hits, 4 earned runs, walked 4 batters and whiffed 1.