The Boston Red Sox have announced on Twitter that the Pittsburgh Pirates have traded right-hander Kyle Kaminska as the PTBNL for the Zach Stewart trade. Kaminska was originally acquired from the Marlins in the trade that sent Gorkys Hernandez and a compensation pick. He was Rule 5 eligible in today’s draft, but wasn’t picked. It makes sense that the trade was announced after the draft, as the Red Sox would have wanted to wait to see if he’d still be available.
The Pirates moved Kaminska to the rotation in Bradenton almost immediately, making a few adjustments which seemed to have worked. He had good results in limited time in Double-A, and then was one of the better pitchers in the league in the AFL. It’s interesting that they flipped him after that work. Then again, perhaps that work allowed them to flip him. I’m not sure that Kyle Kaminska would have been enough for Zach Stewart when he was acquired. It’s not that Stewart is a high priced player, but Kaminska looked like he would wash out as a Double-A reliever before the trade and before the changes.