The Los Angeles Dodgers have been looking for a starting pitcher since Zack Greinke jumped ship, and the result is signing Scott Kazmir on a three-year deal worth $48 million.
Kazmir, fresh off a so-so 2015 season which started very well for him with the Oakland A’s and carried on less successfully in Houston with the Astros with who he did make the playoffs but finished with a 2-6 record there in 14 starts, posting a 4.17 ERA for them. He finished 2015 with a 3.10 ERA that followed him making the All-Star with the A’s in 2014. He also made the All-Star game in 2008 and 2006 when playing with the Tampa Bay Rays, and has some previous time in Los Angeles (or to be more accurate Anaheim), playing three disappointing seasons with the Los Angeles Angels.
The interesting thing about the almost 32-year old signing with the Dodgers is their lefty rotation from top to bottom. Clayton Kershaw, Alex Wood, Brett Anderson and Hyun-Jin Ryu are all lefty pitchers, which might mean the Dodgers could have trouble in certain situations, but are mostly relying on the quality of this five-man unit, plausibly still the best in the majors even if Kazmir isn’t the kind of pitcher Greinke is at the moment, to handle things despite the one-sidedness of where their pitches are coming from.
Despite the disappointing ending to his 2015 campaign, Kazmir gets a slight raise after making $13 million last season. The Dodgers finished first in the NL West for the third year in a row. Despite their massive payroll and their talent all across the board, they were knocked out in the NLDS for a second consecutive season, losing in five games to the New York Mets, with their last postseason series won being in 2013 against the Atlanta Braves in the NLDS. They’re trying through money (although less of it this season) to break their World Series drought, not making it there since 1988, also their last championship and pennant.
So, have we heard of massive signings of right handed bats among NL West teams already?