Texas made two seemingly small trades at the deadline that might prove to have major impact.

They traded reliever Chris Martin to Atlanta for Kolby Allard.

They traded reliever Pete Fairbanks to Tampa Bay for Nick Solak.

Early returns are, these were brilliant moves by Jon Daniels. 

Martin and Fairbanks were solid relievers but they were just that—relievers. Those kinds of guys are easy to replenish. Allard and Solak have been everything advertised, and more.

The lefty Allard is 22, was drafted in the first round of the 2015 draft, and got into three games last year as a Brave, starting one. 

Last night’s start was his fourth of the season for the Rangers. It was his best. He’s had flashes of this brilliance in other starts but ran out of gas early. Last night he put it all together. 

It’s still too early to anoint him the third starter, or to even say he has a place in the 2020 rotation. But If keeps improving like this, he will be a lock. Lucky for him there are a lot of openings.

Twenty-four-year-old Nick Solak was drafted in the second round of the 2016 draft by Tampa Bay and has hit his way up. With two Triple-A teams in 2019, he slammed 27 home runs and drove in 74. And he’s kept hitting since he got to Texas. After his 2-for-4 last night, he is now 7-for-21 in five games. It’s too early to etch his name in the lineup in 2020 but with so many of the core players failing or underperforming, it wouldn’t be hard to imagine a place for him. Second base is the most obvious choice.

Most of the big news on Deadline Day is big name players switching teams. 

But the Rangers might have made two trades that could have significant impact for the future.

*****

TODAY’S GAME:

Brock Burke (0-0, 0.00) vs. Reynaldo Lopez (7-11, 5.25)

Game time: 1:10