On Wednesday, the Atlanta Braves acquired Minor League infielder Travis Demeritte from the Texas Rangers. The 34-66 Braves might be out of the playoffs, but work remains to be done to prepare for 2017 and beyond. The Braves sent RHP Lucas Harrell and LHP Dario Alvarez to the Rangers for Demeritte.
Harrell and Alvarez
Harrell has made five starts for the Braves since coming up to the majors at the start of July. Harrell has had varying levels of success during his lone month in Atlanta. He is 2-2 with a 3.38 ERA in 29.1 innings of work. Harrell was originally brought to the Braves as a short-term solution for a young and injured rotation. Lucas previously pitched for the Chicago White Sox and Houston Astros.
Alvarez, a left-handed reliever, owns a 3.00 ERA with a 3-1 record. Alvarez has surrendered five earned runs over the fifteen innings he has worked. Four of those runs came on two separate outings against the Rockies. Alvarez has demonstrated good control with twenty-eight strikeouts against just five walks. He has held opponents to a .200 batting average.
The Rangers currently hold a 3.5 game lead in the AL West. Harrell will add depth to a rotation that features Cole Hamels and Yu Darvish. Alvarez will join a bullpen that features fellow lefties Jake Diekman and Alex Claudio, but one that has struggled with inconsistencies. As a team, the Rangers rank 28th with an ERA of 4.85.
Travis Demeritte
Demeritte was drafted by the Rangers in the first round of the 2013 draft. Demeritte is actually returning to Georgia, where he once graduated from Winder-Barrow High School in Winder, GA. Demeritte is a versatile infielder capable of playing second base, shortstop, or third base, and possesses decent power.
While playing for the Rangers High-A affiliate in 2016, Demeritte has posted a triple slash of .272/.352/.583 to go along with twenty-five home runs and a .935 OPS. One area of concern for Demeritte is his high strikeout rate, but he brings versatility and depth to an already stacked farm system. Adding Demeritte for two pitchers with no long-term value in a lost season looks like a nice pick up by the Braves front office.
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