Players keep moving, teams continue to reduce payroll and the playoff races continue. Let's take a look at some of the items that hit the headlines this week:
Scott Kazmir has a chance to win a World Series ring with the Angels of Anaheim. The move made by Tampa Bay may be perplexing to the other guys on the Rays roster, but it does make some sense. The Rays are not one of the large market teams with money readily available. In fact, Kazmir was due to make more money next year than the team wanted to commit. They have pitchers Wade Davis and Andy Sonnanstine available to assume Kazmir's role. The players being returned to Tampa are not the one's one would expect. Lefty Alexander Torres is a prospect to watch. He won't be 22 until December. He was a combined 13-4 in A and AA this season. He had a sparkling 2.75 earned run average. Matt Sweeney is a 21 year old left-handed hitting corner infielder. That's a role of strength for the Angels, but the Rays may have a future need at first base. The real bell ringer could be "the player to be named later" coming to Tampa from the Halos. For Kazmir, one would think the third person will be a top prospect at the status of "major league ready." That's something to watch in the days ahead. Kazmir has been better of late, but he suffered from some mechanical issues early in the season. He'll move right into the rotation. The Rays cut payroll without taking a huge hit in the rotation. Again, that 3rd player is key for me.
Jon Rauch to Minnesota makes some sense. He had improved in the second half after going through some personal issues before the All Star break. Rauch never really did live up to the expectations one would expect from the Diamondbacks trade with the Nationals. Rauch will fetch a player less expensive than himself and with years of service remaining to Arizona. It's really astounding how the Diamondbacks have turned their roster over and over again in the past two years. Today is Luis Gonzalez day at Chase Field in Phoenix. Gonzalez is retiring and becoming a member of the DBacks Front Office.
One of the best recent acquisitions just could be Vicente Padilla to the Dodgers. The Phillies never did have a problem with his arm. It was more his off the field issues that drove them to cut their ties with him. Padilla could fill a very important role in the Dodgers rotation and save Clayton Kershaw some extra innings on his arm.
Billy Wagner to the Red Sox is really interesting, to say the least. It certainly has raised the issue of Jonathan Papelbon being on the trading block in the near future. With Wagner and Daniel Bard available, why not see what Papelbon can bring? Papelbon has had to pitch himself out of several self-induced jams of late. That could be wearing on the nerves of the Red Sox front office. Is Wagner healthy? The Red Sox will find out before they going talking to clubs about Papelbon.
Jason Jennings, the centerpiece of a major Astros roster structuring just a couple of years ago is once again on the outside looking in. After serving some time in a bullpen role for the Rangers, Jennings was designated for assignment.
Brad Penny could be on the move once again. But where? The Red Sox saw enough. Their off -season pitching acquisitions (Penny and Smoltz) didn't really come anywhere close to matching Sabathia and Burnett of the Yankees. But they were probably just meant to plug in some starting pitcher holes, not anchor the staff like the Yankees expected from their two new arms. Both of those guys are doing exactly what was needed and expected.
Ryan Freel is assuming a minor league contract with the Rangers. Look for him to be up to the big club when rosters expand next week.
John Smoltz has had two good outings for the Cardinals. Apparently, there may have been an issue with Smoltz tipping his pitches while he was in Boston. If anyone can find that, it would be Dave Duncan or someone else close to him in St. Louis. My jury remains out on Smoltz.
Word is out that the Mets are for sale. Of course, we already know the Rangers are for sale as well. Major League baseball has to be very careful about the potential suitors for those clubs. in a time with financial issues facing almost every club, it would be good to have owners able to withstand the roller coaster rides of our economy.
Supposedly, Roy Oswalt had a few unkind words this past week for his Astros teammates. He challenged their desire to win and actually said they had "quit." If true, those are harsh words in any clubhouse. At last night's Diamondbacks game, GM Ed Wade was in attendance along with top Assistant Tal Smith. Probably just a normal visit to see their club in action. Probably.
Trevor Hoffman has cleared waivers and has allegedly been claimed by the San Francisco Giants. If that's true, the teams have 48 hours to work out a trade. Or, the Brewers can let him go without compensation. The last alternative is to pull him back from waivers and keep Hoffman themselves.
What a moment at the Diamondbacks game last night. Young John Hester, a rookie catcher called up to the big club earlier in the day hit a huge two run homer to dead center field in his first at-bat in the big leagues. Hester was a pinch-hitter and he took the count deep until he got the pitch he wanted. He had a curtain call from a very appreciative crowd.
Time remains for players to be added to rosters and be eligible for the post-season. There may be some deals in the next couple of days and it's something we'll be watching carefully. Last minute roster changes and September roster expansion certainly impact pennant races. Probably the greatest impact is the relief provided to pitching staffs. Calling up players in September can be costly, and we may not see quite as many this year for the non-contenders. But the additions will certainly help the depleted benches and tiring arms out there. Especially in the National League.