Merrill Kelly Reportedly Traded to Rangers from D-Backs Amid Red Sox Deadline Rumors

Merrill Kelly is on the move.

Per ESPN's Jeff Passan, the Diamondbacks traded Kelly to the Texas Rangers on Thursday. Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reported Arizona will receive three pitchers in return:

Jon Heyman of the New York Post reported earlier in the day that the Boston Red Sox had been in talks for Kelly.

Heyman also reported that the Rangers acquired southpaw Phil Maton from the St. Louis Cardinals.

The trade comes as the Diamondbacks look to salvage their season by getting some compensation on the trade market. Arizona is 51-58 on the season, so the decision to sell at the deadline isn't much of a surprise.

This comes after Arizona previously traded Eugenio Suarez and Josh Naylor to the Seattle Mariners in separate deals.

Rosenthal reported Saturday that the Diamondbacks' "initial preference" was to trade either Kelly or Zac Gallen.

Kelly also addressed the possibility of being traded after Saturday's loss to the Pittsburgh Pirates.

“There’s definitely been thoughts all day that this one could be the last one in a DBacks uniform — at least for now,” Kelly said, per the Arizona Republic's Nick Piecoro. “I’m never going to rule out that this is the last one ever, just with how much this team means to me and how much home and the Valley mean to me and my family.”

Kelly, who made his MLB debut with the Diamondbacks in 2019, is putting together one of the strongest seasons of his career. He's recorded a 3.22 ERA and a 1.06 WHIP with a 9-6 record in 22 appearances.

Now joining Texas (57-52), Kelly will look to continue his strong play as the Rangers look to make a deep postseason run.