Carlos Beltran and cash for Dillon Tate, Erik Swanson and Nick Green

Carlos Beltran is a Texas Ranger, with the Rangers acquiring Beltran and cash for Hickory righthanded pitchers Dillon Tate and Erik Swanson and Spokane righthanded pitcher Nick Green, the Rangers have announced.  While the amount of cash included has not been revealed, Evan Grant says the Yankees will be picking up Beltran's salary (update -- the Yankees are picking up half Beltran's salary). To make room on the 40 man roster, the Rangers have moved Prince Fielder to the 60 day disabled list.

First things first...Beltran, 39, has been terrific this season, slashing .304/.344/.546 on the year.  His defense in right field is...well, he's best-suited for DH, but since the Rangers now have a hole at DH with Prince Fielder out, this works out well.  Now, Shin-Soo Choo probably should be a DH as well, but Choo is on the d.l., and there are ongoing questions about whether he is going to be able to stay on the field the rest of the season.  Best case, the Rangers have Beltran and Choo splitting time between RF and DH, Nomar Mazara in LF, Mitch Moreland at 1B, and Jurickson Profar and Ryan Rua starting at a couple of those spots against lefthanded pitchers.  Adding Beltran makes the Rangers offense better, whether Choo is here or not, and it provides insurance should Choo join Prince on the "won't play again this year" list.

New York is getting an interesting collection of righthanded pitchers in the low-minors, headed up by Dillon Tate.  Tate, the #4 overall pick in the MLB draft last season, was hoped to be able to make a solid transition to starting regularly, after spending much of his college time in the bullpen, while cleaning up his mechanics.  Instead, he's struggled with the changes and his stuff has gone backwards, reportedly generating very negative reviews from scouts who have seen him.  There's upside there, but the Rangers apparently feel comfortable cutting him loose to get Beltran.

Swanson and Green are interesting arms, and we can't disregard them because we all remember Tanner Roark, but they are minor pieces in this deal.  Swanson, who turns 23 in September, has taken strides this season and throws really hard, but is still a fringy prospect and is likely a reliever long-term.  Green, meanwhile, is below Swanson on the pecking order.  Green was the 7th round pick of the Rangers in 2014, Swanson the 8th round pick of the Rangers in 2014.

Really, though, this comes down to Tate for Beltran, for the most part, and if you want to know why the price was so high, remember the report that the Yankees are reporting paying most half of Beltran's remaining $5 million due this year.  That's a big chunk of cash, and represents a good part of the value for Tate.