It’s Official, Rays Trade Scott Kazmir To Angels
Scott Kazmir August 28th. 2009, 9:37pmThe LA Times is reporting that the rumored deal is now official. Scott Kazmir has been traded to the Angels for two prospects and a player to be named later.
Check our earlier post for specifics on the deal.
Also, according to Marc Topkin, Wade Davis will replace Kazmir in the rotation.
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They probably decided they want to keep CC over Kaz. Probably costs them this year, but it helps them clear the budget for next year, and they have Wade and The Duke to fill the rotation in the future.
Way to kill any hope of making the playoffs!! =(
Forgive my language but DAMN! I’ll miss you Kaz!!!
Do you really think this means CC is staying? You’re out of your mind if you do. The window has slammed shut. We are now the Royals, Pirates, or fill in the blank.
This was the year we were supposed to win the division and the whole thing. Everyone on earth knew this was short lived. Say goodbye to CC and thank your lucky stars that Longo was signed to a “miracle” deal or he’d be leaving too.
Last year was nothing more than a fluke. Guys had the right contracts, the youngsters played over their heads, and dudes like Sonnanstine even pitched well. Come on. Get real. This dream died long before now.
Any hope to make the playoffs? lol. The fact that we’re trying to backdoor the playoffs should tell you everything you need to know. Now’s a great time to start the farewell Crawford brigade. That ship is leaving too.
I wish none of this were true. Sadly.
Damn, that sucks for you guys even though I’m a Yankees fan. I was hoping you guys would have made the playoffs instead of the Red Sux. You guys still can make it I suppose but it’s unlikely, especially after Kazmir was traded. While it’s good to get Kazmir out of the division since he pitches well against the Yanks, it sucks because it makes the Angels stronger, one of the main contenders for the WS.
I’m not ready to call this giving up. Unless Wade Davis comes up here and does worse than Kazmir, this is not throwing in the towel. Yes, Kaz was throwing better lately, but how often had he also gone out and laid a 4 or 5 inning egg? Point is, if Davis does at least as well as Kaz to close out the season (and given that there’s only 35 games remaining, Davis will probably factor into about 7 of those max), then we’ve lost nothing for this season, we’ve gotten a taste of what we’re going to get from Davis next season, we’ve gotten two prospects and presumably a quality PTBNL, we’ve gotten payroll flexibility. Right now, I feel like this trade could be a win depending on Davis and the PTBNL.
There are any number of reasons the Rays might miss the playoffs this season, but I think most of them have to do with underachieving on the field and not trading away a single starter who will only appear 7 more times this season.
Well said, Charles. As far as I’m concerned their playoff chances this season are pretty much toast anyway. The way this offense tends to disappear completely from time-to-time against unproven rookies or proven-to-be-bad lefthanders, I don’t think Kaz makes the difference between playoffs or not. He could throw 6 perfect games the rest of the season and it would hardly impact their chances. For a perfect example, see his last start against Tornto — 7 IP, 1 ER, 10K and we still lose that game because we can’t get a hit until the 6th inning off a rookie lefty. Realistically, the Rays probably had a 10% chance of the playoffs before the trade and maybe an 8.5% chance afterwards.
Also, the PTBNL is really going to make or break this deal. Maddon claims it’s an interesting player and that he’s ‘very excited’ about it. I’m kind of wondering if it might be Brandon Wood, who the Angels seem to hate anyway. Although acquiring Brandon Wood might mean setting the stage for trading Jason Bartlett, which would set off another s##t storm. The Angels keep jerking around Howie Kendrick too but he’s probably established enough value that they wouldn’t send him in this deal. There are a number of pitchers on their 40-man roster that I don’t know enough about, maybe one of them is a young fireballer who Maddon sees as having ‘closer potential’. Who knows?
My first reaction (after the shock when my friend told me last night) was that they had given up on the playoffs. My second thought was that they were looking to keep CC. I really don’t think they’re going to turn into the Pirates. It just doesn’t fit with the owners’ MO. But when you spend like you’re going to bring in 3 million fans, and you only bring in 2 million, you have to cut costs. But you don’t have to get rid of everyone.
Arredondo he’s got closer potential even though he’s sucked this year last season he was deemed K-Rod’s replacement
News flash….Kazmir trade will NOT be the reason the Rays do not make the playoffs…
The Rays inability to get hits with runners on, hitting into double plays,
striking out 75% of time, missing routine fly balls (you want me to go on) are the reasons the Rays will NOT make the playoffs!
Start with the easy one: the Rays are not the Royals or Pirates. Friedman has already made more good moves in a couple of years than either of those teams has made in a decade.
Oh yeah, I was shocked when I saw the news last night; but now that I’ve had a chance to sleep on it, I realize none of us should be shocked.
Here’s the deal as I see it: if Kazmir had been pitching well before the non-waiver deadline, he would have been gone to the Angels then. Those rumors were not fabricated. The problem was that Kazmir was at his lowest value, and the Rays had no plans to give Kaz up for the lowball offer the Angels probably offered. But my guess is the two GMs said “Let’s just wait on this one.” In fact, I remember Friedman being interviewed by Todd Kalas the night of the deadline, and he said they came really close to making a deal – my guess is this was the deal.
Of course that doesn’t answer the big question: why trade Kazmir at all during this season? Maybe the Rays are really convinced Wade Davis is ready (that’s a LOT of faith in a rookie). My best guess is that Friedman knew he’d get more from a contender now than he would in the offseason, thanks to those extra 5 weeks or so. In other words, he’s the anti-Ricciardi.
Of course the Jays were out of the race, and we’re still *mathematically* hanging in there. That’s life as a small-market team, I guess. If you have a desired commodity and some semi-viable option behind said commodity, you make it happen at any time.
Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to go wear my Kaz-autographed Rays hat and not take it off until November. At least.
At least Kaz got traded to a contender with the potential to beat the Yankees and win the WS. I will miss Kaz, but he was inconsistent and after he was sent down earlier this year I felt his time was up.
I hope CC decides to stay…he is really starting to come into his own and developing into a star player in both offense and defense.
Not sure who to bring up Sonny or Davis. If we remain in the hunt for the WC, then Sonny, with his playoff and WS experience may be the better choice. If not, Davis should get some big league exposure which will position him for next season.