While the Los Angeles Dodgers continued to be linked to top starters Yu Darvish and Sonny Gray ahead of the July 31 trade deadline, the club on Friday acquired Luke Farrell from the Kansas City Royals in exchange for cash considerations. He was designated for assignment on July 24.
Farrell made his MLB debut this month in the first game of a doubleheader, enduring a rough outing in which he allowed five runs on seven hits in just 2.2 innings of work against the Minnesota Twins. The right-hander issued three walks and collected two strikeouts prior to being removed from the start.
Over 17 games (16 starts) this year with Triple-A Omaha, Farrell went 7-4 with a 4.07 ERA and 1.25 WHIP. He held opponents to a .245 batting average while, striking out 94 hitters against 33 walks in 97.1 innings pitched.
Farell is a lifetime 24-26 with a 4.27 ERA and 1.35 WHIP in 99 games (80 starts) over five seasons spent with the Royals organization.
Farrell was selected out of Northwestern University by the Royals out of the sixth round of the 2013 MLB Draft. He’s the son of Boston Red Sox manager John Farrell.
The 26-year-old presumably will serve as depth with Triple-A Oklahoma City, and conceivably could make a spot start for the Dodgers some time before the regular season winds to a close.
Adam Liberatore was transferred to the 60-day disabled list to create room for Farrell on the Dodgers’ 40-man roster. Liberatore was placed on the 10-day DL on June 1 (retroactive to May 31), and Dodgers manager Dave Roberts recently indicated he was not nearing a return.
