The Houston Astros have made the first big trade in the days leading up to the July 31 deadline. They acquired a top starter in the American League from the Oakland Athletics in exchange for a couple of prospects.
Oakland sent Scott Kazmir to Houston and received low-level prospects Jacob Nottingham and Daniel Mengden, according to ESPN's Jerry Crasnick. Kazmir, 31, is 5-5 with a 2.38 ERA and 1.09 WHIP in 18 starts this season for the Athletics. He's long been rumored to be a target of the Astros', especially since he nearly signed with them when he was a free agent prior to the 2014 MLB season.
The Astros can now pair Kazmir with arguably one of the best pitchers in the MLB, Dallas Keuchel, who is 12-4 with a 2.12 ERA and 0.97 WHIP in 20 starts this season. Houston has had rotation issues beyond Keuchel this season. Scott Feldman, Brad Peacock and Brett Oberholtzer have been injured for much of the year and Collin McHugh has been largely inconsistent. Rookies Lance McCullers and Vincent Velasquez have been solid in their debuts, but they might not finish out the season due to innings limits.
Despite his minor arm/shoulder injuries this season, Kazmir will provide stability atop the Astros' rotation as they hope to make a run at the postseason and keep pace with the heavy-hitting Los Angeles Angels.
On the other hand, the Athletics will get some assets in the lower levels of their farm system. The 20-year-old Nottingham is a catcher and first baseman who has spent the 2015 season with Class A Quad Cities and Class A Advanced Lancaster. He is batting .326/.383/.558 with 48 runs scored, 14 home runs and 60 RBIs in 76 games at those two levels.
The 22-year-old Mengden is a right-handed pitcher who has also spent time this year between Quad Cities and Lancaster. Before the trade he was 6-2 with a 3.46 ERA and 1.30 WHIP in 18 games (14 starts) and notched 84 strikeouts in 88 1/3 innings of work. However, he's been struggling ever since earning the promotion to Lancaster and has a 5.26 ERA in 10 games (eight starts).
A's general manager Billy Beane is known for swinging these kinds of deals, especially for impending free agents the small market franchise cannot afford. Kazmir has experienced a revival over the past two seasons and will likely get a lucrative contract this offseason, but he'll spend the next couple of months with the Astros.
"Scott Kazmir is one of the best pitchers in the American League and strengthens our rotation," Astros general manager Jeff Luhnow told the Houston Chronicle. "His addition gives the Astros a better chance of reaching and succeeding in the postseason. It has been a while since the Astros have been relevant late in the summer and winning now is a priority."
Last night Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle speculated Kazmir could be the first player the Athletics trade before the deadline and mentioned the Astros were a frontrunner.
The left-hander was scheduled to pitch this afternoon against the Toronto Blue Jays, but he'll be replaced by Drew Pomeranz.
