Texas Rangers land Phillies' best young pitcher in trade for Kyle Gibson, Ian Kennedy, Hans Crouse

Philadelphia also sent two minor-leaguers to the Rangers, who added seven young players to the organization in the past two days.

Kyle Gibson, above, and Ian Kennedy were traded Friday afternoon to the Philadelphia Phillies (The Associated Press/Michael Ainsworth).

ARLINGTON — Right-handers Kyle Gibson and Ian Kennedy are on their way the Philadelphia Phillies, and the Texas Rangers have scored a highly regarded young pitcher who could be a long-term rotation piece.

The Rangers sent Gibson, Kennedy and prospect Hans Crouse to the Phillies for right-hander Spencer Howard, who entered the season as the Phillies’ No. 1 prospect and one of the top 50 in baseball, in addition to minor-league pitchers Kevin Gowdy and Josh Gessner.

This trade and the Joey Gallo trade Thursday added seven prospects to the organization, though at the expense of their best player, best pitcher and best reliever. The big-league club is going to suffer, but the Rangers believe they are better suited for future success.

“I think it moves us forward in terms of what we’ve been trying to do in a rebuild in a accumulating talent that we think will help us win championships,” Daniels said.

Howard made his MLB debut last season and and has made 11 appearances/seven starts this season, going 0-1 with a 5.72 ERA.

Baseball America says Howard has four quality pitches, starting with a four-seamer that sits at 94 mph and has touched 100, that could allow him to be a No. 2 starter. He also throws a slider, changeup and curveball.

There are concerns about a velocity dip, though the Rangers said their scouts have seen it trend back up recently. Howard has been very good the first time through a batting order, but has faded the rest of the way.

Howard has been pitching with a blister, and the Rangers will examine him before deciding his next outing. He might be better served with a defined role after working out of the bullpen some with the Phillies and not pitching past five innings in any outing.

“He’s a pitcher that we’ve like for quite some time, one of the top right-handed starters in the game,” Daniels said. “As a lot of guys do, he’s hit a little bit of speed bump in the big leagues and is working through that, and quite frankly we look at that as an opportunity to get him.”

Gibson was an All-Star for the first time in his career but has struggled in his past three starts. He is under contract through 2022, part of the reason the Rangers sent $4 million to the Phillies.

Kennedy made the team as a non-roster invitee to spring training and has been terrific in relief with 16 saves.

Crouse was the Rangers’ second-round pick in 2017 and is enjoying a bounce-back year after pitching with bone spurs in his elbow in 2019 and missing last season when it was canceled. He did not pitch at the alternate site or in the instructional league while he readied for the birth of his daughter, who arrived in May.

Daniels said the Rangers were not seeking to trade Crouse. However, they saw an opportunity to turn him into a talented pitcher with a more defined role like Howard, whose future is as a starter.

Crouse, while a starter throughout his career so far, might be better suited as a reliever in the majors.

“We were very open to the idea of trading from a position of strength in our depth to acquire the best quality that we could,” Daniels said.

Manager Chris Woodward said that the Rangers have kept their cool through the trades and have stayed together, which he said is a reflection of the character of the remaining players.

He wants them to understand that opportunity awaits them the rest of the season. There’s not reason to be afraid of it, but to embrace it regardless of wins and losses. There aren’t going to be many Ws anyway.

“The biggest thing for me and our staff is to finish strong,” Woodward said. “It’s what we’ve been asking our players to do from Day 1, just to go out and not just prove people wrong but prove they belong.

“I want to see improvement. I want to see better at-bats, just a competitive brand of baseball, and I want to negate the fear. Let’s go out and play fearless. We have nothing to lose.”

General manager Chris Young said that more players in the minors will be promoted the rest of the season, perhaps even from Double A Frisco. That’s where top prospect Josh Jung, among others is playing.

The Rangers purchased the Triple A contracts of right-handers Drew Anderson and Jharel Cotton to replace Gibson and Kennedy. Left-hander Taylor Hearn is scheduled to start Saturday in Gibson’s spot in the rotation.

There is one spot available on the active roster, and it will be filled Saturday by Howard.