Just minutes before the trade deadline ended at 4 pm, the Texas Rangers acquired veteran starting pitcher Ryan Dempster from the Chicago Cubs for two minor leaguers.

Dempster, 35, is enjoying arguably the best season of his 15-year major league career, with a 6-6 record and a 2.25 earned run average in 16 starts. He will help a Rangers’ rotation that has really struggled to keep itself this season.

Neftali Feliz and Colby Lewis are both out for the remainder of the year, and veteran Roy Oswalt has been a major disappointment since he was signed midseason. Derek Holland and Scott Feldman have been inconsistent, meaning Matt Harrison and rookie Yu Darvish are the only starters who have performed well all season.

Dempster will probably be the team’s third pitcher. Oswalt will move to the bullpen.

Dempster is making $14 million this season and is scheduled to become a free agent after the year. In the trade, the Cubs acquired third baseman Christian Villanueva and right handed pitcher Kyle Hendricks. Both are in Class-A ball.

Dempster’s first start in Texas will come with Geovany Soto catching, who was also acquired from the Cubs in a trade. Ironically, it was the Rangers who drafted Dempster in the third round in 1995. He was traded to the Florida Marlins with Rick Helling for John Burkett in 1996.

Initially, Dempster had been heavily rumored to head to the Atlanta Braves or Los Angeles Dodgers. The New York Yankees were also in the mix.

Many experts predict that the acquisition of Dempster will put the Rangers over the top in the American League West, where they are competing with the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim.

This article was written by Bryn Swartz, the top writer for the Philadelphia Eagles and a featured NFL columnist on Rant Sports. Bryn has written more than 1000 articles in less than two years as a member of Rant Sports. His blog, Eagles Central, was named the 2010 Ballhyped Sports Blog of the Year. To read a portfolio of Bryn’s best work, click here.