The Highlanders and Gamblers have announced a major trade: the Gamblers receive Adrian Beltre and the Highlanders get Scott Kazmir.
Adrian Beltre has been a fixture at the hot corner for the Highlanders since being drafted in 1999. He was one of the slew of slick-fielding thirdbasemen that the team had at that time; Travis Fryman (who was traded from the Hitmen), Edgardo Alfonzo, Eric Chavez, and Adrian. Chavez, ironically, was also dealt to the Gamblers after his rookie year due to the logjam. Eventually Fryman and Alfonzo fell to the wayside and Adrian took over the 3rd base job fulltime in 2005, and responded with a career year, hitting .266 with 49 home runs and 123 RBI; numbers he has not approached since. Since then, he’s settled in as a solid 20-25 HR bat that has mostly hit out of the 5 and 6-holes in the Highlander lineup while playing Gold Glove defense at third. He has hit 84 HR in the 4 years since 2005, but was looking to be relegated to defensive duty only with the arrival of Michael Young.
Kazmir came into the league as a highly regarded youngster, much like Beltre. He was drafted in 2006 by the Gamblers and has a 36-29 record with a 3.75 ERA through 2008, and is 15-3, with a 3.88 ERA in 2009 so far. Questions about his durability remain, although he still is thought to have great potential.
Beltre will fill the hole left by Troy Glaus’s retirement (which in turn filled a hole left by Chavez’s injuries) and should solidify the left side of the Gambler infield for years to come. Kazmir gives the Highlanders another young, potentially high-impact arm as they try to get younger and create a more dynamic, exciting team. For 2010 he’ll slot into the 4th spot in the rotation behind Felix Hernandez, Roy Oswalt, and Jon Garland. He pushes Ian Snell back to the 5th slot in the rotation, Andrew Miller to swingman, and Jeremy Guthrie to the bullpen.
The Highlanders are not done dealing yet – they may have more moves to make, although none that need to be made. Miguel Tejada and Johnny Damon are both high-quality bats at their positions who might find themselves at new addresses this spring, though both could also anchor the Highlanders offense in 2010.