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UPDATE (Aug. 24): Colorado traded minor-league outfielder Pedro Gonzalez to Texas to complete the deal, according to an announcement.
Gonzalez, 19, is hitting .321/.388/.519 with three homers and 11 steals for Rookie-level Grand Junction this season. He is now ranked as the no. 20 prospect in the Rangers’ system, according to MLB Pipeline.
Gonzalez, who earned a $1.3 million bonus out of the Dominican Republic in 2014, stands 6-foot-5 and is considered highly projectable due to his power and bat speed. He is seen as a potential center-fielder or right-fielder at the highest level, though he’s obviously far away.
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ORIGINAL: The Rangers have traded catcher Jonathan Lucroy to the Rockies for a player to be named later, a major-league source confirmed Sunday night. FOX’s Ken Rosenthal first reported the deal.
Texas and Colorado were known to be discussing a deal involving Lucroy earlier today. The Rockies have been looking for a catcher to add to their lackluster current group of Tony Wolters, Ryan Hanigan and Tom Murphy and are getting the best available option on this year’s market.
Lucroy will immediately slot into the starting job for the Rox, being traded for the second consecutive year after being shipped from the Brewers to the Rangers last season. Colorado has now made two impact moves for deadline rentals, as the club acquired reliever Pat Neshek from the Phillies earlier in the week.
Lucroy, 31, has hit .242/.297/.338 with four homers in 77 games for Texas, posting an overall -0.5 WAR in that span. He is earning $5.25 million this year before hitting free agency this winter.
Texas’ return for Lucroy appears underwhelming, even without the player’s identity revealed. It’s not a 2017 draft pick, as those players are not eligible to be involved as PTBNLs until after the season.
Texas sent prospects Lewis Brinson, Luis Ortiz and Ryan Cordell to Milwaukee last year for Lucroy and reliever Jeremy Jeffress, who is also being shopped in trades. Brinson and Ortiz are two of the top prospects in Milwaukee’s system and Cordell was recently flipped for reliever Anthony Swarzak.