Ariel Jurado traded to the New York Mets

The Texas Rangers have traded righthanded pitcher Ariel Jurado to the New York Mets in exchange for a player to be named later and cash considerations, the team announced today.

Jurado, 24, was designated for assignment over the weekend to make room on the 40 man roster for Greg Bird. Bird has since been placed on the injured list.

Jurado has a career 5.85 ERA in 177 IP from 2018-19. He is a sinkerballer who has been viewed as having a swingman upside due to his lack of an out pitch, although he had some success in a bullpen role early in 2019.

Jurado never really got on the map this year as a potential roster candidate, either this spring or in summer camp, and the Rangers have a number of internal righty relief options, as well as starting pitching depth, that were ahead of him on the depth chart. I had assumed that Jurado would end up in Miami, since they have been grabbing all sorts of players due to their COVID-19 outbreak putting half the active roster on the shelf, but he goes to the Mets instead.