The Los Angeles Dodgers managed to acquire a new No. 2 starter without giving up any of their top five prospects, adding rental player Yu Darvish to help them now and in October. The Texas Rangers, meanwhile, did what they could to get more than the second-round draft pick they would have received had Darvish left as a free agent.
The righter-hander is still an above-average starter, even if he hasn't pitched like an ace this year, in his second season back after he missed 2015 due to Tommy John surgery. He has been throwing his cutter more often, but he still uses his above-average fastball and plus slider heavily, with a sort of kitchen-sink approach that works when his command is there -- or, if you believe the stories from his latest start, when he isn't tipping his pitches.
Given that the quality of his stuff seems unchanged, I'm inclined to think that Darvish's start Wednesday was an aberration, and he'll help the Dodgers by bumping Brock Stewart to a long relief role for now and providing a No. 2 behind Clayton Kershaw in the postseason.
The Rangers get three prospects back, none of whom is top-100 caliber.
Willie Calhoun can hit and has shocking power for a 5-foot-6 hitter, but he has no position; he has played second base in pro ball but has no shot to play there in the majors. He's already hitting .298/.357/.574 in Triple-A with 23 homers, even hitting well against left-handed pitching, so it's entirely possible that he can be a solid-average regular, even if he has to DH or fake left field. The hit tool and power are legit, however, enough so that he deserves a chance to play every day somewhere and should at least be a great bench player for a long time.
Brendon Davis is another infielder with an uncertain position, though it's possible he can improve to the point that he can stay at third base. He has also played second and shortstop, though the latter is unlikely. Drafted from the high school that produced Phillies prospect J.P. Crawford, Davis is extremely raw at the plate, striking out nearly 30 percent of the time in his second go-around in low-A.
Right-hander A.J. Alexy was the Dodgers' 11th-round pick in 2016 out of a Pennsylvania high school. He threw 164 pitches in a game one month before the draft but hasn't shown any ill effects yet. He has an average fastball/curveball combination with some physical projection and is having a solid pro debut season in low-A with a 28 percent strikeout rate but a few too many walks.
The Dodgers also made two smaller but significant deals -- one for now and one for the long term -- for Tony Watson from Pittsburgh and Tony Cingrani from Cincinnati.
Watston was an effective setup man in 2014-15 but has been less effective the past year and a half, missing fewer bats and giving up more homers. Right-handed batters have torched him this year, hitting .303/.360/.525 and accounting for all seven homers he has surrendered this year, as he has gotten killed on his changeup, but he has shown enough to suggest that he can be a good left-on-left reliever. The Pirates got two far-off prospects in return: 6-foot-6 infielder Oneil Cruz, a raw third baseman with big power projection, and hard-throwing right-handed reliever Angel German, who's still in low-A.
Cingrani was miscast as a starter with his long arm action and emphasis on just one pitch. He showed flashes of value in relief the past few years but likely needed a change of scenery. He reminds me of the type of acquisition Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman would often make when he was in Tampa Bay: acquiring former top prospects or high picks and converting them to the bullpen or giving them new roles. The Reds get Scott Van Slyke in return -- a fourth outfielder who seems superfluous given their other outfield assets -- and Curacao-born catcher Hendrik Clementina, a bat-first player who is a long shot to stay at the position.