Tampa Bay Rays' Hammel traded to Rockies; Niemann fifth starter

After the long wait, RHPs Jason Hammel and Jeff Niemann finally have closure.

Hammel said he has been traded to the Rockies and Niemann was told he'll be the Rays fifth starter.

Hammel, 26, said he received word of the trade from the Rays Sunday afternoon. Though he enjoyed his time with the Rays, Hammel is looking forward to a fresh start in Colorado, where he hopes to be a part of their big-league rotation.

Hammel broke camp last year as the team's fifth starter - while LHP Scott Kazmir was on the disabled list - but moved to the bullpen once Kazmir returned, and was the long reliever. He said he hasn't heard yet from the Rockies what his role will be, whether it's in long relief or in the rotation.

"I'm definitely appreciative of the opportunity they gave me - wish there was more," Hammel said of the Rays, who drafted him in the 10th round in 2002. "It seemed like I never really had a solidified spot, I was bouncing back between starting and bullpen. But it happens. This is part of the game, the business side and a great opportunity to go to the Rockies."

Though there's been no official announcement as of yet, the Times has confirmed the Rays will get 21-year-old RHP prospect Aneury Rodriguez in return. Rodriguez, the Rockies No. 16 prospect by Baseball America, was scheduled to start the season at Double-A Tulsa, having gone 9-10 with a 3.74 ERA and 139 strikeouts/40 walks in 156 innings last season at advanced Class A Modesto.

Niemann, 26, was elated when he received word he'll be the fifth starter, and break camp with the Rays for the first time. He said he'll board a flight tonight for Boston and join the team. That means that RHP Lance Cormier will likely end up as the Rays long reliever.

Niemann, the Rays 2004 first-round pick, made his major league debut last season, appearing in five games (including two starts), but is now ready to try to stick.

"I'm real exicited - I can't wait to go up there and do my best to get some wins," Niemann said. "To finally be able to break with the big league team and be part of it from the get go is something special and something I’ll never forget."

Both right-handers were competing for the fifth spot in the rotation, but were also out of options, so the Rays were in danger of having to put through waivers (and likely lose) whomever they didn't select to make the roster by the 3 p.m. deadline.

Hammel and Niemann pitched in a minor league intrasquad game Sunday morning, with the Rockies having a scout there to watch. They both waited together at the minor league complex in Port Charlotte until they met individually with Mitch Lukevics, the Rays director of minor league operations, who informed them of the plan.

The competition between friends, which lasted throughout camp and went down until about an hour before the roster deadline, made for a wild experience.  

"It's been crazy," Niemann said. "Both me and Hammel have been doing our best to keep our minds off it and go out there and worry about pitching. But it does get tough when all these things are flying around. And you don’t know what's going to happen. It was relieving to finally have an answer, and now we can get into business and know what we can concentrate on."

- JOE SMITH

joesmith@sptimes.com

Comments

[FRED]

The main reason Price is still down is to control his innings. People said that arbatration dates were a factor with Longo last year, and the first thing they did for was sign him long term. They will do the same for Price when the time is right. For now, I feel they kept the right guy. Nothing much against Hammel, just think it was time for him to move on. Good luck Niemann!

[skp]

niemann is definitely the one with the brighter future here....if he can hack it as a starter, i think we'll see sonnanstine or him traded as part of a package for a future 2B (aki's option years are approaching and we're snug against our payroll limit). if he gets lost in the numbers as a starter, i can see him being a long-term late-innings guy

all this and we still eventually will have to make room for wade davis!

[eastofohio2]

I'm wondering if these same people who are so gung ho to get Price up to the majors right now would be just as excited to see him leave the organization a year early due to a high arbitration award.

It's a simple reality of not being one of the big money teams. Keeping him in the minors until May or June keeps him under the Rays control for an extra year. Bringing him up right now puts him into arbitration a year sooner.

They could not send Niemann or Hammel to the minors anymore without going through waivers - no more options. They are lucky Colorado was willing to give them anything - everybody else was pretty much waiting around realizing that the Rays would have to put one of them on waivers, so why part with anything when the Rays' were in that bind? Thanks, Rockies.

[9equals8.com]

I think the analysis of this trade is pretty simple. Hammel has most likely hit his ceiling (or is darn near close to it) while Niemann has tons of head room. That is not to say Niemann will achieve his full potential, but it's clearly there. The call on Price is actually not very controvertial, in my mind. Why would you throw the future #1 starter into a 200+ inning scenario this early in his career when he has so few starts under his belt (only 1 big league start)? If the Rays play things right, we could see DP as our #1 starter for 4, 5, 6+ years for the Rays. It's not a big sacrifice to ease him into everyday pitching life. Oh, and Niemann may just surprise us. If he turns out to be a solid #5 starter, how much stronger is the Rays pitching staff for this year (e.g. 6 strong starters)?

[Jay of St Pete Beach]

gbert: you are not crazy, but this is not an insane move either. By starting Price in the minors they can control his work load. I believe his target range is 150 innings. In addition, they can also postpone Price's options and arbitration scenarios by not having him on the big league club to start the year.

As for Niemann? Glad he is getting his shot. Let us hope he pitches us to a .500 or better record. As for all the posters who thinks he has a huge upside.... couldn't agree more.

[Bob R.]

And what exactly convinces you that Price is ready to be an effective major league starter? I am not talking about working as a reliever with his two pitches and erratic command. I am talking about starting once every 5th day and providing an average of 6 innings at least per start. (He managed 18 innings in his 4 starts at AAA last year and could only manage 5.1 in his lone start in TB.) That would mean an increase of about 40% in innings pitched from last year, a very dangerous increase.

Price has a chance to be a special pitcher, but he is not yet there, and it is doubtful he can reach his potential without developing a better off-speed pitch or by being rushed into a role for which he has little experience.

[qbert71]

Ok am I the only one that thinks this is insane? We are going with Niemann as our 5th starter (who I think has a ton of potential) but has not proven he can be a MLB starting pitcher, while Price is in the minors? Man, thats kind of warped. Niemann still needs a ton of seasoning, meanwhile Price is ready to go. I would wager after a month Price will be back in the rotation and Niemann will be in relief, after this whole spring of who will be the 5th man. Good trade though, I just hope Hammell can hack it in Denver, man not a pitching friendly envoiorment park.

[MarkFidrych]

Rodriguez had some pretty good overall stats for being only a 20 yr old pitching in the hitter friendly High A California League.

[Tim]

He had no future here so I'm glad he was traded. He has about the same numbers as Niemann but Niemann has a much bigger upside.

[MarkFidrych]

Good Bye Hammell.