Rangers' Spencer Howard: Traded to Texas

Howard (finger), Josh Gessner and Kevin Gowdy were traded from the Phillies to the Rangers in exchange for Kyle Gibson and Ian Kennedy on Friday, Jeff Passan of ESPN.com reports.

Howard has been a dominant pitcher in the minors, posting a 1.85 ERA and a 34.7 percent strikeout rate in 30 starts across the last four years. He hasn't come close to replicating that thus far in the majors, with his strikeout rate dropping to 22.5 percent and his ERA spiking to 5.81, though that comes in a small sample of just 52.2 innings.