Aug 2, 2025; Seattle, Washington, USA; Texas Rangers starting pitcher Merrill Kelly (23) throws against the Seattle Mariners during the first inning at T-Mobile Park Joe Nicholson-Imagn Images

Rangers Deadline Addition Ranked Among Best Free Agents by Former MLB Exec

Originally posted on Texas Rangers on SI
By Kenneth Teape | Last updated Aug 15, 2025 6:00 PM ET

The Texas Rangers surprised a lot of people with how they handled business ahead of the MLB trade deadline this year.

Instead of focusing on adding hitting, which has been a sore spot for the team throughout the campaign, they solidified their pitching staff.

A dominant closer wasn’t acquired, but Phil Maton and Danny Coulombe were two solid additions to the bullpen to balance things out late in games.

The Rangers also acquired Merrill Kelly from the Arizona Diamondbacks, who was arguably the best starting pitcher who changed teams. The price to acquire him speaks volumes about how expensive it was for teams to land pitching help, with Texas trading Mitch Bratt, Drake Kohl and David Hagaman, three pitching prospects ranked in the top 13 of the organization.

It was a steep price to pay, especially because Kelly is a rental who seemingly has plans on returning to the Diamondbacks when he hits free agency this winter. He grew up in the area, and up until the trade, he spent his entire professional career with Arizona.

But the Rangers acquired someone who has been amongst the most consistent pitchers in baseball over his seven-year career, especially in the most recent campaigns he has pitched in when healthy.

Where Does Merrill Kelly Rank Amongst Potential Free Agents?

That is certainly part of the reason why Jim Bowden of The Athletic (subscription required) has placed Kelly at No. 19 in his potential MLB free agent rankings.

Kelly is the No. 9 pitcher on the list and No. 6 starting pitcher, with former teammate Zac Gallen being amongst the higher-ranked starters at No. 17.

In his career, Kelly has a 3.75 ERA and 1.20 WHIP across 165 starts and 969 innings pitched with 880 strikeouts. He has shown no signs of slowing down in his age-36 season, pitching to a 3.36 ERA thus far in 2025 with a 1.09 WHIP across 25 starts and 144.2 innings with 136 strikeouts.

His Breaking Run Value of plus-5 and Offspeed Run Value of plus-7 are both elite, ranking in the 84th and 96th percentiles, respectively. A Pitching Run Value of plus-12 is in the 88th percentile, as he is getting the job done each time he takes the mound this year.

Were Kelly to actually test free agency, he could probably land a lucrative short-term deal with a contender as a reliable middle to back-end of the rotation arm. But if his mind is set on returning to the Diamondbacks, they would almost assuredly welcome him back with open arms given the state of their pitching staff.