Searching for a veteran starter to replace Bartolo Colon, the Oakland Athletics have signed free agent Scott Kazmir to a 2-year $22 million contract. The deal is pending a physical.
Scott Kazmir was once one of the best young pitchers in baseball. The ace of the Tampa Bay Rays staff, he seemingly forgot how to pitch once going to the Los Angeles Angels to the point where he was pitching in independent ball in 2012. Last year the Cleveland Indians took a chance on Kazmir and the gamble paid off as he pitched an awful lot closer to the ace he used to be in Tampa, than he did to the guy who got run out of the league after his time with the Angels.
Kazmir, who turns 30 next , was 10-9 last year with a 4.04 ERA and 1.29 WHIP in 29 starts for the Tribe. He should expect those numbers to improve in the pitcher friendly confines in Oakland. The lefty also showed the ability to overpower batters with 162 strikeouts and just 47 walks in 158 innings last season. He seemed to get better as the season went on, with a 3.38 ERA in the second half of the season.
Kazmir must be considered a risk for Oakland, but given the upside here, and the prices of other free agent pitchers it might be one worth taking for the A’s.
The A’s will ask Kazmir to lead a staff with plenty of young arms. As it stands, left-handers Brett Anderson, and Tommy Milone and right-handers Jarrod Parker, A.J. Griffin, and Sonny Gray will all be competing for the other four spots in the rotation.
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Main Photo Credit: Keith Allison via Wiki Commons, CC
