The Phillies have acquired Kyle Gibson, Ian Kennedy, and Hans Crouse from the Texas Rangers, according to Ken Rosenthal. Spencer Howard, the Phillies once top prospect who never really found his groove in the majors, will be on his way to the Rangers, along with Kevin Gowdy and Josh Gessner, two Phillies prospects.

Pitching has always been the number one priority for this team, with the back of the rotation guys not being able to provide lengthy innings, and never knowing what you’re going to get from the bullpen. Dave Dombrowski knew that, and went out and got one of each.

Kyle Gibson is having a great season with the Rangers. He’s 6-3 with a 2.87 ERA. He has a 1.18 WHIP with 94 strikeouts and 41 walks over 113 innings. Gibson will be a great arm to add to the middle/back of the rotation, and will give you quality innings on the mound, something that this team desperately needs.

Ian Kennedy has also pitched a very good season for the Rangers. In 32 bullpen appearances, he has a 2.51 ERA, with 16 saves, 35 strikeouts, and a 1.05 WHIP in 32.1 innings pitched. Kennedy will immediately be implemented into this struggling bullpen. This move could also push Ranger Suarez back into the setup or long inning reliever, with a true closer now on the team.

Hans Crouse, a starter in the AA for the Texas Rangers, will be the third player heading to Philly. He’s 3-2 in his time in AA, with a 3.35 ERA, in 13 games started. Crouse has tallied 51 IP, along with 54 strikeouts and a WHIP of 0.90 as well. Hans Crouse is also the team’s #9 prospect, and is now a Phillie.

Along with three players joining the Phils, Dombrowski will also get about $4 million back in the trade. The Phillies have always floated around the luxury tax, and have never been big fans of going over it. As of now, they still sit under that luxury tax, according to Jayson Stark.

Spencer Howard’s career with the Phillies is officially over. Howard was a player that never lived up to the hype, who struggled to get past the third or fourth inning in most of his starts. The way the Phillies handled the Howard situation may have not been the best, but most of the blame is on Howard himself.

As of recent, with Howard dominating teams seeing the lineup for the first time, it seemed like he was trending towards becoming a reliever. But the Phillies never viewed him as that, and now, he is no longer with the team. He’ll finish his career with a 5.81 ERA, in 13 starts and just 52.5 innings pitched.

With time running out on the deadline, the Phillies may not be done. Although Dave Dombrowski has seemed quiet so far, rumors have been floating around with Byron Buxton as a potential landing spot for the Phillies.

Less than 30 minutes to go. We’ve officially hit crunch time.

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