The Texas Rangers rolled the dice Monday night after trading for starting pitcher Yovani Gallardo. The team traded away three minor league prospects including young shortstop Luis Sardinas. The 21-year-old did well playing for Texas hitting .313 in 125 plate appearances. The trade illustrates the confidence the Rangers have in their young farm system. Going foward the team believes Gallardo can have a positive impact on their pitching system. But who exactly is Yovani Gallardo?
Yovani Gallardo![gollardo]()
Gallardo is a native of Fort Worth, Texas where he played high school baseball. He played eight seasons with the Milwaukee Brewers. During that time he had six winning seasons including being selected to the All Star game in 2010. He has a career record of 89 wins and 64 loses with a 3.69 ERA. Gallardo’s best season came in 2010 where he finished the season with 14 wins, seven loses and a 3.84 ERA. Although he has only made the All-Star game once, Gallardo continues to show development throughout his career. Last season, he went 8-11 with a 3.51 ERA. Gallardo is viewed as a reliable pitcher who has no problem putting in work. ESPN reports he has made 30 starts the past six seasons and pitched more than 180 innings in six of his eight big league seasons. He’s also pitched 200 innings twice in his career. There is no doubt Gallardo will have an impact in Texas.
What does it mean for Texas?
A team in desperate need of finding pitching in the middle of their rotation may have just found their guy. A major concern for Texas this offseason was finding valuable pitching. Rangers general manager Jon Daniels stated that it was the team’s goal to sign a veteran starting pitcher after the team went through 15 different starters last season. A key component that led to this was the amount of injuries the Rangers suffered within their bullpen. Several pitchers were recovering from various health issues including Matt Harrison who had back surgery, Martin Perez who had Tommy John surgery and Derek Holland who was recovering from knee surgery. Besides trading for Gallardo, the Rangers had not made any type of major trade that could bolster their bullpen this offseason. The team did re-sign veteran Colby Lewis to become the No. 5 starter and acquire Ross Detwiler from the Washington Nationals. With Lewis almost guaranteed to be the No. 5 starting pitcher it is expected that Gallardo will move into the No. 3 spot behind ace Yu Darvish and starter Derek Holland. It is unsure who the No. 4 starter will be but the team has plenty of options to choose from including Matt Harrison, Ross Detwiler and Martin Perez.
Gallardo is a solid pitcher who can pitch inning after inning. He has made 30 starts in each of the past six seasons. His style will transition well in Texas. Gallardo pitches for contact and opponents hit 71% of his pitches. There is no need to worry though because the defense Texas has will benefit Gallardo and help the team win games. If the team can stay healthy this upcoming season there is no doubt Gallardo can easily win 12 – 14 games. I expect Gallardo to have a positive impact in Texas and win about 10 games this season. His style and work ethic speak for itself. This a trade Texas needed and I applaud them for it.
Gallardo will make $13 million in the final year of his contract and the Rangers strongly believe that there is a high chance he will sign with the team long-term.