Rangers acquire Harrell, Alvarez from Braves

The Texas Rangers acquired pitchers Lucas Harrell and Dario Alvarez from the Atlanta Braves in exchange for minor-league infielder Travis Demeritte, the Braves announced Wednesday.

Both pitchers will join the Rangers, who have been desperate for mound help over the last month.

Harrell spent the 2015 season in Korea before returning to the United States on a minor-league deal with the Tigers in March. He was picked up by the Braves in May and has made five starts since being recalled July 2, posting a 3.38 ERA, 21 strikeouts, and 12 walks in 29 1/3 innings. His 88 walks in 2013 led all of baseball.

The 31-year-old owns a 4.74 ERA, 1.559 WHIP, and 289 strikeouts over six big-league seasons with the Braves, Houston Astros, and Chicago White Sox.

Alvarez, a left-handed reliever, was claimed off waivers by Atlanta from the New York Mets on May 25. He owns a 3.00 ERA in 16 games out of the bullpen, to go along with a 5.60 strikeout-to-walk ratio. The 27-year-old has held left-handed hitters to a .217 average this season, while right-handers are hitting just .188.

Demeritte, the Rangers' first-round pick in 2013, was ranked the No. 20 prospect in the team's farm system by MLB Pipeline. The 21-year-old second baseman has spent 2016 with Single-A High Desert, and leads the California League in home runs (25), slugging percentage (.583), and total bases (193).

Demeritte served an 80-game suspension in 2015 after testing positive for a banned substance.

The Rangers have been searching for pitchers amid injuries and ineffectiveness over the last month, and they may not be finished adding arms. With the Harrell and Alvarez acquisition, the team is reportedly working on adding some more "established" pitchers to help keep them atop the AL West, according to Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News.

Texas has been linked to multiple big-name pitchers this month, including Chris Sale, Edinson Volquez, and Andrew Cashner.