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Texas Rangers rumors: Yovani Gallardo is on the verge of being traded to Texas by the Milwaukee Brewers, according to Ken Rosenthal on Twitter.
Gallardo, who turns 29 in February, was a second round pick in 2004 by the Brewers out of Fort Worth Trimble Tech. The righthander has made at least 30 starts for the Brewers in each of the last six years, and has generally been a solid 2-3 win pitcher over that time.
There have been reports of the Rangers being interested in Gallardo for the past couple of years. Gallardo is under contract for the 2015 season at $13 million. He is a free agent after 2015.
Gallardo isn't a top of the rotation starter, and he had a rough 2013, but he's a solid #3 type, and a good fit for the Rangers behind Yu Darvish and Derek Holland. He fills the gaping hole in the middle of the Rangers' rotation, providing a bridge between Yu and Holland at the top, and Colby Lewis and Ross Detwiler at the back of the rotation. It also means that the Rangers aren't forced to use one of the Nicks, Bonilla, or Chi Chi in the rotation to start the season, barring injury.
No word yet on who is going to Milwaukee, but you'd think Luke Jackson and Nick Williams are prime candidates to go in a deal like this.
UPDATE -- T.R. Sullivan tweets thusly:
Yovani Gallardo has not been told that he has been traded to the Rangers. The Rangers are not planning to announce any trade today
— TR Sullivan (@Sullivan_Ranger) January 18, 2015
