Rangers trade Yu Darvish to Dodgers

The Dodgers have acquired starter Yu Darvish from the Rangers for prospects Willie Calhoun, A.J. Alexy and Brendon Davis, according to FOX’s Ken Rosenthal and Yahoo’s Jeff Passan.

Los Angeles was heavy in pursuit for Darvish throughout the last week, though the club appeared to lose steam in their efforts throughout the day Monday before swinging a last-minute deal. The addition of Darvish, one of the top two starters available this summer along with new Yankee Sonny Gray, is a major move for a Dodgers team that had an aggressive deadline, also acquiring relievers Tony Watson and Tony Cingrani earlier in the day.

Darvish joins Clayton Kershaw to form one of the best 1-2 punches in all of baseball, furthering the Dodgers’ status as the clear World Series favorite once Kershaw returns from his back injury. He joins Kershaw, Rich Hill and Alex Wood as the club’s likely playoff starters.

Darvish, 30, will hit free agency after this season. He owns a 4.01 ERA and 3.98 FIP in 22 starts this season, though those numbers are a bit inflated by his last outing. The four-time All-Star drew strong interest from multiple teams in advance of the deadline, though the Dodgers were always considered the favorite.

Texas decided to entertain the idea of selling at the beginning of last week and also traded Jonathan Lucroy to the Rockies on Sunday night. The Rangers were a major deadline buyer last year, when they acquired Lucroy, Jeremy Jeffress and Carlos Beltran for the stretch run.

Calhoun, who was recently ranked as the no. 74 prospect in baseball by MLB.com, is the prize of the package for Texas. The former fourth-rounder (2015) has hit .298/.357/.574 with 23 homers in 99 games at Triple-A this season and is viewed as a strong power bat who is close to reaching the majors. Though he has appeared at second base and in the outfield throughout his minor-league career, his long-term position is in question.

Alexy, 19, is a 6-foot-4 right-hander taken straight out of high school in the 11th round by the Dodgers last season. He ranks as the no. 17 prospect (via MLB.com) in the Dodgers’ system after working to a 3.67 ERA in 19 starts with Single-A Great Lakes this season.

Davis, 20, is a 6-foot-4 shortstop who was selected in the fifth round by the Dodgers two years ago. He has hit just .241/.350/.403 this season at Single-A and Hi-A and may project as a third baseman down the line. Davis needs to work on his plate discipline as he rises through the minors. He was ranked as L.A.’s no. 27 prospect, per MLB.com.