Rays Send Matt Gorgen to Diamondbacks to Complete Chad Qualls Trade

From MLB Trade Rumors:

Gorgen, 23, acted as the closer for the Rays' Double-A affiliate in Montgomery this season. In 42 outings, he compiled a 1.65 ERA to go along with 8.6 K/9 and 22 saves.

Prior to the season, Baseball America ranked the right-hander as the 28th-best prospect in Tampa Bay's system, describing him as a "classic hard-charging reliever" who projects as a middle reliever or set-up man in the bigs.

Gorgen was drafted by the Rays in the 16th round of the 2008 draft and since then had climbed steadily through the system. He put up some breathtaking strikeout numbers in 2009 in Advanced Single-A (averaged 1.14  K/9), but he struggled with his command when moving to Double-A. He had a good season this year as Montgomery's closer, but I'm doubtful if Gorgen would ever have developed into a pitcher the Rays used at a major-league level.

The Rays do a great job at churning out pitching prospects and they have a history of finding great bullpen arms for cheap. Considering that the Rays currently have so much bullpen depth that they're letting Winston Abreu waste away in Triple-A, a young relief pitcher needs to be as good as Jake McGee to break into the majors with them. Gorgen was good, but not that good - he's the same age as Jake McGee right now, but has yet to pitch beyond Double-A.

This might seem like a lot to give up for Chad Qualls and his 6.57 ERA / 4.32 FIP with the Rays, but one needs to consider the context. With the Rays' system, Gorgen is replaceable and he served his main purpose: providing solid trade value to acquire players.