Angels acquire lefty Scott Kazmir

by Eli Greenspan on Aug 29, 2009 11:58 AM EDT Comment 2 comments

It's official. The Angels traded two highly touted prospects - lefty pitcher Alex Torres and third baseman Matt Sweeney - to the Rays for lefty ace Scott Kazmir. The Rays will also receive a player to be named later.

"We're very excited about the player that we can't name yet, but also about the other two," Rays manager Joe Maddon said. "The lefty has a great arm, and Sweeney is one of the best hitters in the minors."

There appears to be a sense of disappointment among Rays players, but that is apart of the business. The free agent market for pitchers this offseason is thin and will likely be expensive. Adding Kazmir, 25, who will be under team control through the 2012 season, will give the Angels more stability in the rotation, which was hit hard this year by injuries and the tragic death of pitching prospect Nick Adenhart.

The Rays receive to very successful prospects from the Angels organization. Sweeney batted .299 with 9 home runs in 58 games in Class-A. Sweeney suffered a hip injury in June, and missed two months of the season.

Torres, 21, combined to go 13-4 with a 2.75 ERA in 26 games between Class-A and Double-A.

"There were players that obviously were moved in this deal that they saw value in and they liked — and we liked," Reagins said. "We think that we gave up two talented players, and a third to come. So this was not a basic salary dump."

Kazmir will likely make his first start Wednesday versus Felix Hernandez and the Mariners.

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This is a good move for the Angels.

Now there are options on who to throw out there against the Yanks or Sox or whoever else they face in the AL playoffs.

No team NEEDS five good starting pitchers in the playoffs, but now if one of the Angels pitchers is underperforming (as Santana and Saunders have done at different times this year) or gets hurt (which has happened a number of times already this season. The Angels still don’t have Escobar back and have lost Lackey, Santana, Shields, Moseley at times) they have someone else to turn to.

I think a rotation with Lackey, Weaver, Santana, Kazmir, and Saunders is fierce.

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by matthiasstephan on Aug 29, 2009 1:44 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Great move

Kazmir’s proven, with 4 years in a row with a sub-4.00 ERA. Been shaky this year, but 3 straight quality starts and 4 in the past 6. Since all-star break, has gone from giving up a HR every 5.5 IP to one every 12 IP. K:BB ratio went from 1.6 to 2.4, his ERA has dropped nearly 3 runs and his WHIP 0.5.

And his salary the next few years isn’t bad either. Excellent move by Angels. The prospects they gave up were in low minors (albeit doing well) and weren’t considered top 10 prospects.

by 18 Mile on Aug 30, 2009 2:55 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs