In any great war, shots have to be fired in order for the conflict to begin. The MLB trade deadline is the same way in that a single move must be agreed to in order to begin the craziness that always takes place in the final week of July. That shot has been fired with the Houston Astros landing Oakland Athletics lefty Scott Kazmir.

The Astros sent pitcher Daniel Mengden and catcher Jacob Nottingham to Oakland in the deal.

Kazmir immediately improves an Astros rotation that has been solid, but inconsistent. The emergence of Dallas Keuchel has helped a lot, but Houston has needed a starter to pair with him for months. Now they have that pitcher.

The lefty is 5-5 with a 2.38 ERA this season and will have plenty more opportunities for wins while playing for a team that can consistently put runs on the board. This move also doesn’t necessarily mean that the Astros are done dealing for pitching this deadline.

Houston still has their sights set on Johnny Cueto, who would fit nicely into this new rotation. With Cueto, the team could run out Keuchel, Cueto and Kazmir in that order. That way, they would have a lefty, righty, lefty mix, which would keep opposing teams off balance, especially at the trade deadline.

For anyone wondering just how serious the Astros were about competing this season, they now know; Houston is ready to contend, and they’re ready to contend this season. Kazmir is just the most recent evidence of that.