Dodgers sign lefty Scott Kazmir to strengthen starting rotation
After whiffing twice in their offseason efforts to strengthen their starting rotation, the Los Angeles Dodgers on Wednesday announced that they’ve agreed to terms with lefty starter Scott Kazmir on a three-year contract that will, at the very least, give pause to the talk that the Dodgers aren’t doing enough to compete in the pitching-crazed NL West.
The Dodgers weren’t able to bring back free agent Zack Greinke and their deal with Hisashi Iwakuma fell apart after a failed physical, but Kazmir, 31, has re-established himself as a reliable big-league pitcher again who ought to help them in 2016.
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According to various reports, the contract is worth $48 million. What might be most interesting is that, according to Jon Heyman of CBS Sports, Kazmir’s contract comes with an opt-out clause after the first year. Opt-outs seem to be all the rage these days, but having one after just a year is unusual. The benefit for Kazmir is the ability to be a free agent again next winter in what’s viewed as a weak class of starters.
Last season, Kazmir split his season with the Houston Astros and Oakland Athletics, with a 3.10 ERA in 31 starts. The season before, he had a 3.55 ERA while going 15-9 with the A’s, firmly re-establshing his career after being out of the big leagues in 2012 and not pitching well in 2010 and 2011.
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With Kazmir on board, the Dodgers could potentially have an all-lefty starting rotation, starting with Clayton Kershaw and including Alex Wood, Brett Anderson and Hyun-Jin Ryu. We have to figure the Dodgers aren’t done shopping yet, though, since both the Arizona Diamondbacks (Greink and Shelby Miller) and San Francisco Giants (Johnny Cueto and Jeff Samardzija) have been aggressive in adding starting pitching.
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Mike Oz is the editor of Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter! Follow @MikeOz
