We know now what the Rays got in return for trading second baseman Akinori Iwamura: 26-year-old righthanded reliever Jesse Chavez. Chavez was 1-4 with a 4.01 ERA and 1.351 WHIP in 73 appearances for the Pirates in 2009. Slightly underwhelming? Perhaps. But given Iwamura’s $4.85 million option, the Rays needed to dump him somehow. Considering the circumstances, a young, league-average-ish reliever seems like a decent get.
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