Two days before the Trade Deadline, teams "scramble" to try and find players that will come in and be effective in thier new roles. Today, two trades went down so far. Both were to get bullpen help, and both may be effective when September and October roll around.
Tigers trade OF Danry Vasquez to the Astros for RHP Jose Veras.
Braves trade RHP Cory Rasmus to the Angels for LHP Scott Downs.
Both trades will solidify bullpens that have needed another arm to get much-needed outs. Downs has inherited 254 runners over his career, and only 79 came around to score. That's an astounding inherited score percentage of only 31%. He also owns a 1.84 ERA this season. Veras also owns an even lower career inherited score percentage than Downs, as he's only allowed 19% (25 of 130) to score. His ERA this season is 2.93.
Both these pitchers will make immediate impacts, as they are now thrown into pennant races. The Braves and Tigers improved their bullpens by a lot with the acquisitions of Downs and Veras, as they can close the door in tough situations. I think both teams attacked a need by making a superb deal.
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