Rangers get two young pitchers for Laird

The Rangers have acquired Minor League pitchers Guillermo Moscoso and Carlos Melo from the Tigers for catcher Gerald Laird.

Laird was informed of the trade by Rangers general manager Jon Daniels on Sunday night. An official announcement is expected on Monday.

Moscoso is a 25-year-old right-hander from Venezuela who was 5-4 with a 2.70 ERA in 21 games, including 12 starts, between Class A Lakeland and Double A Erie this past season. Moscoso, who can both start and pitch in relief, is 2-1 with an 8.36 ERA in eight games in the Venezuelan Winter League.

A Detroit official described him as a pitcher with a 91-93 mile per hour fastball with an average breaking ball and a developing changeup. It's highly unlikely that he'll compete for a job on the Major League level in Spring Training.

Melo, 17, is a 6-foot-3 right-hander from the Dominican Republic who has yet to pitch in the United States. He was 3-3 with a 5.14 ERA in 14 games in the Dominican Summer League with 61 strikeouts and 20 walks in 49 innings. The report on him is that he has an "electric" fastball.