(The Sports Xchange) – Yu Darvish is on the move, after all.
Minutes after Darvish posted a picture of himself standing next to his Rangers locker on Twitter, Texas traded the four-time All-Star to the Los Angeles Dodgers on Monday.
The Japanese-born right-hander posted a caption of “10min!!!” with his Twitter selfie, a reference to Monday’s impending 4 p.m. ET non-waiver trade deadline.
Texas received outfielder Willie Calhoun, right-hander A.J. Alexy and infielder Brendon Davis in exchange for Darvish.
Fox Sports was first to report the trade.
Darvish, 30, bolsters a red-hot Dodgers squad that boasts the best record in the majors (74-31) and is currently without injured ace Clayton Kershaw (back). He is 6-9 with a 4.01 ERA and 148 strikeouts through 22 starts this season.
In five major league seasons, Darvish has posted a 52-39 record with a 3.42 ERA and 960 strikeouts in 122 career starts, all with Texas.
Darvish led the American League in strikeouts with a career-high 277 in 2013. He originally signed with the Rangers on Jan. 18, 2012 after spending seven seasons with the Nippon Ham Fighters in Japan.
To create room on the 40-man roster for Darvish, the Dodgers designated infielder/outfielder Mike Freeman for assignment.
Los Angeles also acquired left-handed relief pitcher Tony Watson from the Pittsburgh Pirates for right-handed pitcher Angel German and infielder Oneil Cruz.
Watson, 32, went 5-3 with a 3.66 ERA and 10 saves over 47 relief appearances this season with the Pirates.
Additionally, the Dodgers landed veteran left-handed reliever Tony Cingrani in a deal with the Cincinnati Reds.
The 28-year-old Cingrani was 0-0 with a 5.40 ERA in 25 relief appearances with Cincinnati before the trade.
Texas made one other lesser deal before the deadline, shipping right-hander Jeremy Jeffress to the Milwaukee Brewers for right-hander Tayler Scott.
(Editing by Steve Keating in Toronto)
