Phillies acquiring Kyle Gibson, Ian Kennedy, Hans Crouse from Rangers

The Phillies are trading Spencer Howard and two prospects to the Rangers for Kyle Gibson, Ian Kennedy, and Hans Crouse.

THE PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES HAVE ACQUIRED PITCHING.

Sorry, was I yelling?

With less than an hour to the 4 PM MLB trade deadline, Dave Dombrowski has done it again.

The Phillies are getting Kyle Gibson and Ian Kennedy from the Texas Rangers in exchange for Spencer Howard, and prospects Kevin Gowdy and Josh Gessner.

Gibson, who was an All-Star this season, has a 2.87 ERA over 19 starts this season, and has struck out 94 batters in 113 innings, placing him right up there with Zack Wheeler as the headliners of the starting rotation.

Kennedy has a 2.51 ERA over 32 appearances. This is his 15th season in the big leagues, and he’s closed 25 games and has 16 saves. He’s also got a refreshingly-low 1.9 BB/9 rate, and has struck out 35 batters in 32 /13 innings.

Crouse is a pitching prospect currently ranked ninth on the Rangers’ Top-30 list. His scouting profile says he has “electric stuff,” including a fastball that can hit 99 mph. He also has a slider and changeup. This is a really solid addition to the Phillies farm system.

Phillies pitching just improved immensely, based on an infusion of fresh arms alone. Kennedy will likely take over as the closer, while the Phillies can minimize the impact of Vince Velasquez and Co. by adding Gibson to the rotation.

Ranger Suarez can either shift to the set-up role or even return to the starting rotation.

With less than half an hour to go before the deadline, we’ll see if the Phillies do more.

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