What Happened To Casey Kotchman?

I remember watching Casey come up the ranks of the Angels Organization thinking man... this kid has a beautiful swing. I really thought he would be good. He combined a sweet left handed swing with a vacuum based defense at first that sucked up anything within a 5 mile radius of first base. I remember a 2 homerun game he had years back with one one going to left and the other two center and I was thinking that this was the hallmark of the next great Angel hitter. He could hit for power and he did not try and do too much with the pitches often driving the ball to the opposite field. His development seemed to put him in the makings of a special player.

Then he got mononucleosis and it seemed to all come undone. He never seemed to get back to the promise he once had. The Angels felt like they needed a power bat in the ill-fated trade that brought the team Mark Texiera. He struggled in Atlanta, Seattle, Boston and was just released by Tampa Bay. With all that promise, what happened? I really thought I would be watching him in an Angel's uniform for a long time and was saddened by his trade. I hope Casey is given a shot somewhere and believe he has the talent to excel at the major league level.

See Article: http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/news;_ylt=AjWKkuG4lQI8DJu7COXuFP0RvLYF?slug=ap-rayscuts