Rangers Acquire Uehara From O’s for Davis and Hunter

The Rangers got their right handed reliever Saturday, but it wasn’t the player many expected.  Texas acquired Koji Uehara and cash from the Orioles for pitcher Tommy Hunter and first baseman Chris Davis.

It was reported that Texas was in extensive trade talks with the Padres for their closer Heath Bell earlier in the week.  Many expected the two sides to come to a deal before Sunday, but instead the Rangers added Uehara.

Koji has been great in his third year with the O’s.  Over his 43 appearances in 2011, the right hander has posted an ERA of 1.72 while maintaining the league’s second best WHIP (0.70) among relievers.

Most analysts think that the Rangers got the superior deal in Uehara as he’s been better statistically than Bell and has put up the numbers in the American League.  Uehara also has an option that is very likely to vest for 2012, while Bell will be a free agent after this season.

Baltimore acquired two players who could potentially fill large areas of need for the club.

It’s being reported that the O’s are looking to deal veteran first baseman Derek Lee, which would pave the way for Davis.  The 25 year old has split time between the majors and Triple-A this season.  Davis absolutely destroys minor league pitching (.970 career OPS) but has struggled to establish himself in the bigs (.755 career OPS).

Davis has once again raked in Triple-A this season, posting a line of .368/.405/.824 with 24 home runs and 66 RBI’s in 48 games.

Hunter joined the Rangers in the beginning of July and has made 8 appearances out of the pen, maintaining an ERA of 2.93 over 15.1 innings.  The 25 year old had been a starter from 2008-2010 but was sidelined by an injury to begin the 2011 season and hadn’t yet been able to reestablish his spot in Texas’s rotation.

A career 23-13 pitcher, Hunter went 13 and 4 last year for the Rangers with an earned run average of 3.73 and 1.24 WHIP.  The right hander will likely be added to a Baltimore rotation that can use all of the help it can get.

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