OT- Angels Acquire Kazmir

[zilby]

The Angels have acquired Scott Kazmir from the Tampa Bay Rays for two minor leaguers.

The trade is expected to be announced later on Friday.

Kazmir is signed for $8 million next season and $12 million in 2011, with a club option for 2012 at $13.5 million.

The Angels are expected to send left-hander Alex Torres and infielder Matt Sweeney to the Rays in exchange for Kazmir.

http://baseball.realgm.com/src_wiretap_ ... tt_kazmir/

bold move by the angels, whats their rotation now?

Lackey/Weaver/Kazmir/Santana/Guy #5?

wow

[Mak]

wow....this is crazy. At least the Jays were out of it when they dumped Rios with a much worse contract. Wow.

[Duffman100]

Now it's fallen through? per wiretap.

[zilby]

Now it's fallen through? per wiretap.

i counter this duffman!

http://baseball.realgm.com/src_wiretap_ ... to_angels/

owned

[tsherkin]

Confirmation of this came through during the game. Wow. The Angels already had 70+ wins and now they add Kazmir... damn.

[youngLion]

Wow this is crazy.... I know Kazmir is having a down year, but he seemed to be turning it around. I was at what turned out to be his last start with the Rays on Wednesday, and he looked like the old Scott Kazmir. We'll need Met or Shaddy to rate the prospects, but right now this looks like a big win for Anaheim, and a massive blow to Rays fans after all that success last season.

[tsherkin]

Interesting comparison in, I think, Keith Law's blog... Nolan Ryan before he went to the Angels. Ryan had a slightly worse walk rate, actually. I wonder if the pitching coach over there can help him out, and if the trainers can keep him healthy enough to keep using that slider?

[-MetA4-]

Kazmir has had arm problems for a while now and his velocity is noticeably down this year, as is his slider which was his true plus pitch which made him so good. His walk rates have also skyrocketed and hew simply doesn't look anything like the dominant pitcher he was in the past.

Tampa got Alex Torres, Matthew Sweeney, and a PTBNL which is supposedly Jordan Walden (although I haven't seen that confirmed). If thats the deal then I like that return for the Rays. Walden is LA's #1 or #2 prospect (although he's had some health issues this year), Torres is a 21 year old LHP with power stuff who has had a strong season showing strikeout ability as well as groundball tendencies (although he has control issues), and Sweeney is a really interesting young bat who is also having a very strong season (.896 OPS in A+ at age 21) showing power and an eye at the plate.

Thats a pretty strong return for a pitcher who looks to be really going downhill, especially when guys like Torres and Sweeney are the under-the-radar type prospects whom in a year or two could be looked at as top prospects.

[tsherkin]

Kazmir's walk rate has been the same for almost 3 years now, there's nothing changed about that. 2006 was the outlier, not the status quo with him. He's posting 3.9+ BB/9 for the years prior to this one and 4.8+ in his first two seasons. He's not striking guys out anymore, which is just highlighting the walks more.

But yeah, arm problems, diminished velocity, mediocre (at best) control to begin with... He's getting hit more often than in the past and he's giving up more homers. Maybe he'll look better for the Angels, but he wasn't doing Tampa many favors.

[Schad]

His velocity looked a little better against the Jays, but he just doesn't look like the same pitcher...Kazmir was always a better thrower than he was a pitcher, and without max stuff the results aren't always going to be pretty. He still has a chance to get back to that level, but I don't see him ever refining his control such that he'd be a truly elite pitcher.

For those curious, his seasonal innings pitched prior to this year:

2004 - 134.3
2005 - 186 (+51.7 from the previous season)
2006 - 144.7 (shut down in late August - shoulder trouble)
2007 - 206.7 (over 60 innings more than a season in which he had to be shut down!!)
2008 - 152.3 (lingering elbow problems)
2009 - opened the season on the DL.


If you want to write a how-to manual for wrecking a power pitcher, Kazmir should be on the cover. Not only did they do zany things with his innings, they did all this while the team was winning 61-67 games a year. By the time the team actually needed him, his arm was starting to break down.

[Mustard_Tiger]

Kazmir was regressing, his velocity was down, and he was incredibly injury-prone. Good trade by the Rays...it should allow them to make a play at Roy Halladay in the offseason if they want to.

[JN]

Good deal for the Rays - even with the timing. Tampa is not a large market and while they appear they will spend more, payrolls for young teams grow astronomically, and they have to make choices on who to keep. Better losing Kazmir, then somebody else.

As for trading him now... you risk further injury or even more ineffectiveness down the stretch to make him completely untradeable in the offseason.