It’s official. The Rays have traded infielder Akinori Iwamura to the Pittsburgh Pirates in exchange for right-handed, relief pitcher, Jesse Chavez.
Chavez, 26, finished the 2009 season with an ERA of 4.01 while recording 47 K’s and 22 BB’s.
Chavez should have a legitimate chance at procuring a roster spot for the 2010 season.
By making the trade before the official end of the season the Rays saved around 1/2 million dollars.
In the long run Ben Zobrist will end-up costing the Rays more, but in the short term this move seemed all but inevitable, especially considering that the Rays will have no choice but to continue to carry Burrell’s inflated salary, as well as the $10M that Crawford is due.
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“Sayonara” is actually the anglicized spelling, by the way. I applaud this move from the Rays perspective, since clearly Aki was going to be spending too much time on the bench next season to justify his contract, but from the Pirates point of view, it seems silly. Aki’s a good player, but he’s a productive role player, not somebody you build your team around. This move only makes sense if they now proceed to sign Matt Holiday and John Lackey!?! He would’ve made a lot more sense for the Dodgers or the Cubs. He’s only signed for one more year, so it isn’t like he’s still going to be around when the Pirates finally rise from the ashes.
Good catch with sayonara, I was quite rushed this morning.
The Rays move makes perfect sense, but the Pirates move isn’t too bad; they got a legitimate infielder for a bargain basement price (about $4.5M).
Aki’s natural postion is 3rd base, and now he has plenty of 2nd base experience too, so versatility also helps sweeten the pot for Pittsburgh.
I think this may be a classic win/win scenario.
Don’t get me wrong. I think Aki is a fine player, but he is coming off a serious injury and hasn’t proved his full strength yet. $4.5 Mil is cheap for some teams, but not for the Rays, clearly, or for the Pirates, especially when you consider that a.) Freddy Sanchez, who the Pirates gave up because he was going to be “too expensive,” just signed for $6 Mil./year b.) Orlando Hudson signed last season for around $5 Mil. and c.) Hudson, Placido Polanco, Felipe Lopez, and others will probably be available in that price range as free agents. Most importantly, in my opinion, the Pirates only get Aki as a one-year “rental.” They aren’t going to compete in ’10 without a host of other trades or signings, so why give up the money and the cheap B-level prospect for one year of potentially less than 100% Iwamura?
I definitely see your point, although I do think Aki is most certainly recovered from the knee injury.
We all know that the Pirates are not known for their baseball savvy so you’re probably right that they could’ve figured out a longer-term solution.
This moves paves the way for Sean Rodriguez. I know some will say Ben Zobrist, but I assume he can move to the OF.
As for the Pirates… if they so desire, they can always flip Iwamura for prospects themselves or possibly get some picks when Iwamura becomes a FA next year.
I see it as a win-win too.
There’s some truth to that Grich. The addition of S-Rod made Aki even more expendable. Zobrist’s flexibility means the Rays can look at spring training as an opportunity to audition S-Rod alongside Matt Joyce, Fernando Perez, and Justin Ruggiano.
I think the outfielders will have the advantage though, because Zobrist’s terrific defense (15.6 UZR at 2B in ’09) is much more valuable on the infield.
As for the Pirates side. If they could flip Aki for something better than Chavez at midseason, than this will look pretty good. What worries me is that this looks so much like the Pirates status quo: sign or trade for a middle-tier guy (Derek Bell, Daryle Ward, Adam LaRoche, etc.) just so that it looks like they’re doing something, but with no recognizable long-term plan to build a competitor.
Zobrist will most certainly be the most-days 2B.
Ruggiano is just about on his last leg as a “prospect”, he’s fallen way down the list.
You forgot to mention Desmond Jennings, who most beleive will be Tampa’s next “big time” outfielder.
I’m a big Perez fan, but this season was supposed to be his coming-out party. His wrist injury in the spring may very well have cost him any real shot at being an everyday big-leaguer. There were plenty of whispers before this season about how he would make CC expendable by mid-season, but the injury in conjunction with CC’s spectacular season have changed his sitution drastically. He is touted as a switch hitter, but can only really bunt from the left side and sadly, his time is running low, at 27 his window as a pure prospect is closing, and his speed, which is the crux of his entire offensive game, won’t last forever.