In a deal that not a lot of people outside of the organization saw coming, The Rays sent lefty Scott Kazmir to the Angels. In return the Rays received prospects Alex Torres and Matt Sweeney, and a player to be named later. Lets take a closer look at this deal.
Kazmir leads the Rays organization in about every all-time pitching category, but don't let those numbers fool you. He was not the pitcher they were expecting when received him from the Mets. Kaz was inconsistent and injury prone throughout his Rays career. When this lefty pitcher is on he is hard to hit, but most of the time he struggles to get through five innings. Kazmir also seemed to not gel very well with his teammates or fans. Don't get me wrong the Angels are getting a talented lefty, but I understand why the Rays made this deal.
Alex Torres is a 21-year-old lefty, who is 13-4 with a 2.75 ERA in the minors.
Matt Sweeney, 21, is a two time minor league all star that plays third base and designated hitter.
In the short term it might appear that Angels got the better side of the deal, getting a talented starter to shore up their rotation. This deal does give them the ability to win now. On the other side, only time will tell how the Rays will fare with this trade. Kazmir's salary was a lofty one, and this frees up some money that Tampa Bay could use for a free-agent.
Wade Davis, whom I saw pitch in Montgomery, will be called up. He will be a nice addition to the rotation for the future. This trade also frees up a roster spot, which was taken by Akinori Iwamura who just came of the disabled list.
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