The first major trade of the Major League Baseball season happened today, when Oakland Athletics starting pitcher Scott Kazmir was sent to his hometown to play for the Houston Astros.
The 31-year-old left-hander has had a few peaks and valleys throughout his Major League Baseball career like most players, but it has been mostly peaks recently. After being a highly-touted prospect for the Tampa Bay Rays, injuries caused Kazmir to stray off the beaten path for a while. After fixing his game in the minor leagues, Kazmir was named the American League Comeback Player of the Year in 2013, and was awarded a berth on the AL All-Star team in 2014, a season where he won a career-high 15 games.
Kazmir, however, just saw his stint with Oakland cut short, as he was traded for two minor league players, Jacob Nottingham and Daniel Mengden.
This season, Kazmir is 5-5 with a 2.38 ERA, 1.09 WHIP and 101 strikeouts. The good news for the Astros is that in his past five starts against American League West teams—the Los Angeles Angels, Seattle Mariners and Texas Rangers—Kazmir is 4-0 with a 0.99 ERA. Thirty-five of the final 66 games for the Astros are against AL West opponents.
Kazmir is joining American League All-Star Game starter Dallas Keuchel, Collin McHugh, Scott Feldman and Lance McCullers, giving them one of the deepest rotations in the AL. With the Astros trailing the Angels by two games in the division, Kazmir can be the boost they need to claim their division-lead back.
With Kazmir on the roster, below is secondary market information for Astros tickets for their remaining games in July, provided by TiqIQ.com.
Least Expensive: 7/23/2015 | Houston Astros vs. Boston Red Sox | Minute Maid Park | Average Price: $52.33 | Get-in Price: $16
Fans have a cheap option to catch the Astros face the Red Sox at Minute Maid Park as the get-in price is starting from $16 for tonight’s game. Houston hotels starting from $69 can be booked through Hipmunk for out-of-town fans looking to see a reinvigorated Astros team after making this trade before the deadline. Expect Minute Maid Park to be filled with a new energy as they face a slumping Red Sox team, while going for the sweep after downing them on Tuesday and Wednesday.
Most Expensive: 7/25/2015 | Kansas City Royals vs. Houston Astros | Kauffman Stadium | Average Price: $92.06 | Get-in Price: $27
Hipmunk also provides the cheapest Kansas City flights for those looking to create a baseball vacation and take in a new stadium. The Royals have emerged in recent years to become one of the top teams in the league, as these two on-the-rise franchises have completely flipped their fortunes from several years prior when they were consistently in the cellar of their respective divisions. This game, with a get-in price of only $27, may be a playoff preview, as the Royals are in line to snap the Detroit Tigers’ streak of consecutive division titles in the AL Central.
