Deal is in exchange for minor league pitcher, player to be named later The Pittsburgh Pirates have acquired hard-throwing closer Keone Kela from the Texas Rangers for minor league starter Taylor Hearn and a player to be named.The deal was announced late Monday night after the Rangers' 9-5 win over the Arizona Diamondbacks. "It was a challenging trade," Rangers GM Jon Daniels said. "Keone has been awesome the last couple years, a dominant closer for us. Ultimately felt where we are, it made sense to consider these kind of deals where we can get multiple players. "Stay updated with breaking news: Download the WTAE mobile appThe surging Pirates are 3 1/2 games behind Arizona for the final NL wild-card spot, with Atlanta and Colorado also ahead of them in the standings. The Pirates entered Monday with a 4.23 bullpen ERA, 10th best in the NL. "Kela is an experienced, quality, high-leverage reliever who projects to be a significant addition to our late-game options for the next few seasons," Pirates general manager Neal Huntington said.The 25-year-old Kela has 24 saves and a 3.44 ERA this season. He will be arbitration eligible beginning next season and will not be eligible for free agency until after the 2021 season.Kela learned of the deal after being called from the bullpen in the seventh inning Monday night. "I'm still a little shocked, but I'm excited that it's a new beginning, a new journey that I get to venture into," he said. "Just forever grateful for the opportunity to play here in Texas, all the support from the fans. "Hearn is 3-6 with a 3.12 ERA in 19 starts at Double-A Altoona this year. The 23-year-old left-hander is a graduate of Royse City High School, located about 50 miles west of Globe Life Park in Arlington. The Pittsburgh Pirates have acquired hard-throwing closer Keone Kela from the Texas Rangers for minor league starter Taylor Hearn and a player to be named. The deal was announced late Monday night after the Rangers' 9-5 win over the Arizona Diamondbacks. Advertisement "It was a challenging trade," Rangers GM Jon Daniels said. "Keone has been awesome the last couple years, a dominant closer for us. Ultimately felt where we are, it made sense to consider these kind of deals where we can get multiple players." Stay updated with breaking news: Download the WTAE mobile app The surging Pirates are 3 1/2 games behind Arizona for the final NL wild-card spot, with Atlanta and Colorado also ahead of them in the standings. The Pirates entered Monday with a 4.23 bullpen ERA, 10th best in the NL. "Kela is an experienced, quality, high-leverage reliever who projects to be a significant addition to our late-game options for the next few seasons," Pirates general manager Neal Huntington said. The 25-year-old Kela has 24 saves and a 3.44 ERA this season. He will be arbitration eligible beginning next season and will not be eligible for free agency until after the 2021 season. Kela learned of the deal after being called from the bullpen in the seventh inning Monday night. "I'm still a little shocked, but I'm excited that it's a new beginning, a new journey that I get to venture into," he said. "Just forever grateful for the opportunity to play here in Texas, all the support from the fans." Hearn is 3-6 with a 3.12 ERA in 19 starts at Double-A Altoona this year. The 23-year-old left-hander is a graduate of Royse City High School, located about 50 miles west of Globe Life Park in Arlington.<doc-sep>More Fantasy Baseball: Can you trust these 20 'aces' down the stretch? A trade late Monday sent Keone Kela to the Pirates, creating an opening at the back of the Rangers bullpen. And while early indications are that lefty Jake Diekman will fill it — he worked the ninth inning with a four-run lead Monday, facing the heart of the Diamondbacks order — he may well follow Kela out the door, which means we shouldn't get too attached to the idea of him closing. Seeing as he has a 3.69 ERA and 1.38 WHIP, he may not be best equipped for it anyway. Subscribe to the Fantasy Baseball Today podcast for free on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, TuneIn, Google Play or anywhere else you listen. But the Rangers do have a reliever whose numbers are more befitting of the role. Jose Leclerc RP • 2018 season ERA 2.27 WHIP 1.01 IP 39.2 BB 19 K 56 At 24, Jose Leclerc is someone who the Rangers can groom for the long haul, and he's already proven as a bat-misser, having recorded 11.8 strikeouts per nine innings as a rookie last year. While Diekman worked the ninth inning Monday, Leclerc struck out the side in the eighth and may well force his way into the closer role even if Diekman stays put. He'd be my choice to add of the two. Stephen Piscotty OAK • RF • 25 past 41 games BA .292 HR 12 2B 13 AB 154 K 32 View Profile All of a sudden, Stephen Piscotty is on pace for 23 homers and 41 doubles, which would be similar to what he contributed in 2016, when he was regarded as a must-start outfielder. Granted, most of it has come over the past six weeks, but his BABIP is right around .300 during that stretch — perfectly sustainable, in other words. Shane Bieber CLE • SP • 57 Monday at Twins IP 6.1 H 6 ER 3 BB 2 K 7 View Profile Monday's outing was just barely a quality start, but those are nothing to sneeze at in an era when so few pitchers are allowed to take a third turn through a lineup. That's six times in seven starts now that Bieber has thrown at least six innings, and the two walks equaled his high during that stretch. Another Rick Porcello, perhaps? Scott Schebler LAA • RF • 44 2018 season BA .278 HR 12 OPS .821 AB 266 K 65 View Profile Between Jesse Winker having season-ending shoulder surgery and Adam Duvall getting shipped to Atlanta on Monday night, Scott Schebler no longer has any impediments to his playing time, which is only right seeing as the left-handed slugger has hit .351 off lefties this year. He's on a rehab assignment after losing two weeks to a shoulder injury of his own, but he was hot before then, batting .319 with seven homers and a .932 OPS in 36 games. Johan Camargo ATL • 3B • 17 2018 season BA .258 HR 11 OPS .791 BB 34 K 58 View Profile Johan Camargo's Week 19 (July 30-Aug. 5) is off to a good start with a couple doubles Monday, which gives him a .304 (35 for 115) batting average to go along with five homers over his past 31 games. There may be more BABIP correction ahead, too, so he's more productive as a shortstop-eligible player than his 33 percent ownership rate would have you believe. Derek Holland DET • SP • 49 2018 season ERA 3.90 WHIP 1.27 IP 113 BB 41 K 114 View Profile Bet you wouldn't have guessed Derek Holland has more than a strikeout per inning this year. He also has the best swinging strike rate of his career by far, leading to numbers that aren't half bad overall. Making half his starts at the game's most pitcher-friendly venue seems to be smoothing out the rough edges. You missed the opportunity to use him in a two-start week — he delivered five strong innings at the Padres on Monday — but at 27 percent ownership, he's available in leagues that may even appreciate him as a one-start option (at least when he's at home).<doc-sep>
MLB Trade Deadline: The Texas Rangers late tonight (early today?) announced that they have traded closer Keone Kela to the Pittsburgh Pirates for... well, we don’t know because it’s 1:00 in the dang morning. UPDATE: Good news, we know the Rangers have acquired left-handed pitcher Taylor Hearn who was ranked as the Pirates’ 7th best prospect according to MLB Pipeline. Kela had sort of become the relief prize on the market here at the tail end of the trading period as he blossomed into the role of closer for Texas this season and now he’s on the move. On the year, Kela is 24 of 25 in save opportunities with an ERA of 3.44 in 36 2⁄ 3 innings. ERA for a reliever is always a spurious metric, however. Most importantly, Kela has a 10.80 K/9 rate and features a nice fastball that he uses off a plus curveball. Kela sports a FIP of 2.97 and has been worth exactly 1.0 fWAR, which is good for a reliever. Texas is presumably getting back a top Pirates prospect , Hearn, a tall lefty with an ERA of 3.12 and 107 Ks in 104 innings in Double-A ball, and then perhaps also a lottery type of guy to dream on. But, again, we don’t know: The #Rangers know who they are getting from the #Pirates for Kela. The delay in naming the players is due to the difficulty of contacting them at this late hour, sources say. — Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) July 31, 2018 But now we do know one name! The Rangers sure are weirdos. Kela gets to gain a billion games in the standings and join a Pirates team that is on the fringes of contending for October but they have certainly signaled that they’re going for it by bringing in an elite, controllable reliever. Kela won’t become a free agent until 2020 which is a big part of why he was considered valuable to move this summer. It’s sad to see Kela go from a fan standpoint. Even so, Kela is a massive developmental win for Texas as he made it to the big leagues as a 12th round draft pick in 2012. The return for Kela will help kickstart the rebuilding process in Texas but it hurts that he’s not going to be glowering at hitters in October in a Rangers uniform. One last time: