Per Tim Brown on Twitter, the Rangers have traded for Chicago Cubs catcher Geovany Soto. Frisco righthanded pitcher Jake Brigham has reportedly been sent to the Cubs for Soto. As Brigham was on the 40 man roster already, no 40 man roster move will be necessary to add Soto.
Soto is 29 years old, and won the Rookie of the Year Award in 2008 when he hit .285/.364/.504 for the Cubs. Soto has been erratic offensively throughout his career...while he had a .280/.393/.497 line in 2010, he also posted a .218/.321/.381 line in 2009, a .228/.310/.411 line in 2011, and has just a .195/.278/.345 line in 2012. However, Soto is under team control through 2013, and so he represents a potential upside play for Texas both the rest of the season and next year. Catching was a concern for the Rangers in 2013, given that both Yorvit Torrealba and Mike Napoli are free agents after the 2012 season.