| Authored by Craig Sternberg - 31st August, 2009 - 5:13 pm
 With the trade deadline passing what feels like eons ago, the Angels finally addressed their need for pitching depth by acquiring Scott Kazmir from the Tampa Bay Rays for their annual playoff push.
Tampa Bay agreed to send Kazmir to Los Angeles in exchange for two minor leaguers; left-hander Alex Torres and infielder Matt Sweeney, along with a player to be named later.
Torres is a left-handed AA pitcher who struck out about a batter per inning. He has a small frame (5’10 and 185 pounds) but has above average velocity and gets a lot of ground balls with a good sinking fastball. Once he develops his secondary pitch and gains more control, Torres projects as a power set-up man in the bullpen as early as 2010.
Matt Sweeney is a left-handed third basemen with below average defense, so his ideal position will most likely end up being first. He’s big at 6’3 and
215 pounds, which has drawn him numerous comparisons to Aubrey Huff. He hits for high power and draws a lot of walks but missed all of 2008 with an ankle injury. If Sweeney can stay healthy, he will be a solid addition as a Rays' corner infielder or DH. Sweeney didn’t project into the Angels future plans with the emergence of Kendry Morales as the long term solution at first base.
Considering the ransom being demanded by Toronto for Roy Halladay just one month ago, the price paid by the Angels for Kazmir seems minuscule.
Kazmir has been a front of the rotation pitcher, but he has been derailed by injuries over each of the past two seasons. Kazmir has landed on the DL twice this season and has an 8-7 record with a 5.92 era, but has improved recently with four out of his five starts in August having been quality starts.
Despite his struggles, Kazmir is only 25 with his prime years still ahead of him and he could develop into the type of hard throwing strikeout pitcher the Angels need for the postseason.
Very few ballclubs develop and cultivate young pitching better then the Angels, where Kazmir will be reunited with former pitching coach Mike Butcher, whom under his tutelage posted a 3.24 era in 2006. He also has outstanding records against teams in the AL West (15-5 with 173 strikeouts in 166 innings pitched) and puts up great numbers against potential playoff foes
in the Yankees and Red Sox.
For years under former GM Bill Stoneman, Angels' fans shouted for the front office to take more risks that could potentially get us over the hump and deep into the playoffs. Under his successor, Tony Regains, there has been a bold move each season, starting with the acquisition of Mark Texieria last season and now Scott Kazmir. But that doesn’t mean this is just some reckless risk or a trade for the sake of making a trade, it was a calculated risk that everyone within the organization thought could benefit the Angels immensely. It gives stability to a rotation that was trotting out guys like Sean O’Sullivan and Trevor Bell as their 5th starter and gives the Angels a deep starting rotation for the stretch run.
In adding the $23.5 million left on Kazmir’s salary, many worry this is essentially a trade for three prospects and the potential loss of pending free agent John Lackey this upcoming offseason. But all it does is give the Angels more leverage in not having to overspend on Lackey this offseason and offering him a deal that’s of fair market value, as they have more then enough money to hang onto the veteran starter at a fair price.
Grade for Angels: A-
The Rays also made a very good move for the future of their organization without compromising too much of their immediate future. They pick up three solid prospects in return for Kazmir and at least one of them should help the big league club in 2010. Their chances of making the playoffs this year are decidedly slim and they traded a piece that wasn’t going to fit into their future plans for three solid prospects and some financial relief that could turn into some other help down the road.
Tampa Bay is known for being one of the smaller market teams in the bigs, never strutting out a payroll above $70 million. Getting rid of Kazmir was a must for the Rays, who can now use that money to fill in multiple holes rather then one. With the emergence of David Price, along with Wade Davis pitching well in AAA, Kazmir became expendable to the organization.
Grade for Rays: B+ |
