​The Texas Rangers might just have made the steal of the offseason.





Earlier today, the Chicago Cubs decided to pick up the $20 million team option on Cole Hamels, the veteran hurler they picked up from Texas at last season's trade deadline. To make room in their rotation, they jettisoned lefty Drew Smyly to Texas.

Sources confirm: #Cubs picking up Hamels’ $20M option, trading LHP Drew Smyly to #Rangers. TEX would have paid Hamels’ $6M buyout if CHC declined option. First reported: @jcrasnick. — Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) November 2, 2018

​​The 29-year old Smyly pitched serviceably to start his career in Detroit and Tampa Bay, but has missed some significant time over the last two seasons with injuries. He had Tommy John immediately after signing with Seattle, never pitching a game for them--and had just started to return to game action in the Cubs' system at the end of last season.





Remind you of anyone? Maybe someone who just dominated the postseason for the Red Sox?

What Nathan Eovaldi did for the @RedSox was priceless and showed a lot of guts and heart. This outing definitely guarantees that everybody will be looking at him. — Pedro Martinez (@45PedroMartinez) October 27, 2018

​​That's right, Pedro. I'm talking about Nathan Eovaldi.





Eovaldi was a serviceable starter in Miami and New York before missing the entire 2017 season with a torn UCL. The Yankees proceeded to release him, and he ended up having an injury-riddled tenure in Tampa Bay before landing with the Red Sox at this year's trade deadline.





It was after landing in Boston that Eovaldi turned from journeyman starter to ​absolute dynamo. He was a new man down the stretch for the BoSox, and completely dominated the Yankees, Astros and Dodgers en route to the title.





Smyly and Eovaldi have had strikingly similar paths. All it took for Eovaldi to unlock his potential was to land in the right place. Smyly is an Arkansas native, so he'll be back in the South, pitching in the climate he grew up pitching in. And the Rangers have been the location of many a career renaissance, including pitchers Matt Bush and Austin Bibens-Dirkx, and a certain ​future Hall of Fame third baseman.





If Smyly ends up bouncing back next season, you heard it here first: the Rangers made what will be one of the sneakiest moves of the offseason today.