Merrill Kelly is now a Ranger. 

The veteran right-hander was traded by the Diamondbacks to Texas ahead of Thursday’s deadline, according to ESPN’s Jeff Passan. 

The Rangers sent left-handed pitcher Kohl Drake and right-hander David Hagaman, who are MLB.com’s No. 5 and No. 13 prospects in Texas’ farm system, to Arizona in exchange for Kelly, per The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal. 

Kelly, 36, is in the midst of one of the best seasons of his career, posting a 3.22 ERA with 121 strikeouts across 128 ⅔ innings in 2025. 

Since debuting at 30 years old in 2019, Kelly has been one of the most consistent starters in baseball, making 162 starts over seven seasons with a 3.74 ERA. 

Kelly will slot in behind Jacob deGrom and Nathan Eovaldi in the Rangers’ rotation, giving Texas one of the best 1-2-3 punches in the league. 

The Rangers are currently 57-52, sitting five games back in the American League West and tied with the Mariners for the third and final AL Wild Card spot. 

The Diamondbacks’ trade of Kelly is the latest in what has turned out to be a deadline fire sale for the franchise. 

On Wednesday, they traded two-time All-Star third baseman Eugenio Suarez to the Mariners. 

Earlier this month, Arizona sent Josh Naylor to Seattle and Randal Grichuk to Kansas City. 

The Diamondbacks are well out of the National League playoff race, trailing the Dodgers by 12 games in the NL West and the third NL Wild Card spot by nine games.