Welcome Back: Red Sox Deal for Former Prospect Kason Gabbard

According to reports, the Texas Rangers have traded left-handed starting pitcher Kason Gabbard, 27, to the Red Sox for cash considerations. This isn't the first time Gabbard has been with the Red Sox; he made 14 appearances for the Red Sox between 2006 and 2007.

Then, at the 2007 trade deadline, Gabbard was traded to Texas, along with outfielder David Murphy and outfielder Engel Beltre to land relief pitcher Eric Gagne, who at the time had a 2.16 ERA, 1.05 WHIP, and a 29-12 K-BB ratio.

With the Red Sox, Gagne appeared to be a completely different pitcher. In his time in Boston, Gagne had a 6.75 ERA, 1.87 WHIP, and a 22-9 K-BB.

Gabbard, in 14 career appearances with the Red Sox, has been a serviceable pitcher. Between 2006 and 2007, Gabbard went 5-3, with a 3.62 ERA, and a 44-34 K-BB ratio in 66 innings.

Gabbard pretty much fell apart in his short Rangers career. Playing in a hitter's ballpark, he allowed 10 home runs in only 96 innings with Texas. His ERA jumped from 3.62 with the Red Sox to 5.20, and his K-BB rate climbed to 59-62.

Gabbard began the year at AAA Oklahoma City after failing to break camp, where the Rangers were attempting to convert him to a relief pitcher. Through six innings, Gabbard had a 10.50 ERA, 3.50 WHIP, and a 3-11 K-BB. Albeit a short stint, it looked like a failing experiment, prompting a trade back to Boston.

Gabbard was immediately assigned to AAA Pawtucket, where Gabbard has a career 8-10 record, 4.13 ERA, 1.35 WHIP, and a 124-55 K-BB.

However, in his most recent stint with Pawtucket in 2007, Gabbard went 7-2, with a 3.24 ERA, 1.21 WHIP, and a 64-25 K-BB, earning him a call-up to the Red Sox, where he turned in four (one out away from a fifth) quality starts in his seven appearances, all starts.

With a greatly bolstered bullpen backing up a great starting rotation, it doesn't look likely that Gabbard will get a call-up in the near future, but judging on how he has pitched within the Red Sox organization, he isn't a bad guy to have around to use in an absolute worst-case scenario.