On Thursday, the Rangers' rotation had an MLB-best 3.16 ERA. It’s only going to get better. With less than an hour to go until Thursday's 5 p.m. CT Trade Deadline, Texas acquired Merrill Kelly from the Diamondbacks for a trio of pitching prospects.

The Texas Rangers have acquired veteran right-handed starting pitcher Merrill Kelly from the Arizona Diamondbacks, the team announced Thursday. The Diamondbacks receive minor-leag

The Texas Rangers acquired right-hander Merrill Kelly from the Arizona Diamondbacks on Thursday, adding a veteran starter with postseason experience to fortify their rotation at the trade deadline. The D-backs received three minor league pitchers: left-handers Kohl Drake and Mitch Bratt and right-hander David Hagaman.

This affiliate content is not influenced by our advertising relationships, but AP and Data Skrive might earn commissions from our partners’ links in this content.

The Rangers have been surging up the standings over the last month. They ended June with a 41-44 record and were 3.5 games behind the Mariners in the Wild Card standings. They’ve gone 16-8 in July and 9-3 since the All-Star break and enter this huge four-game series tied with the M’s in the standings.