Thursday, December 31, 2015

Scott Kazmir signs 3-year deal with Dodgers

It's always been comical to me the past couple years listening to people complain about the White Sox having "too many left-handers" in their starting rotation.

If you think the Sox have too many lefties, take a look at the Los Angeles Dodgers' projected rotation for 2016.

The Dodgers signed free-agent left-hander Scott Kazmir to a three-year deal reportedly worth $48 million on Wednesday, adding him to a group of starting pitching options that includes ace Clayton Kershaw, Alex Wood, Brett Anderson and Hyun-jin Ryu.

Yes, all five of those pitchers are left-handed.

The Dodgers whiffed on their two right-handed starting pitching targets. They failed to retain free agent Zack Greinke, who eventually signed with the Arizona Diamondbacks, and their deal with Hisashi Iwakuma fell apart after a failed physical. Iwakuma eventually re-signed with the Seattle Mariners.

That left the Dodgers desperate for starting pitching, and they ended up signing the guy who was probably the best available arm remaining on the market at this point. Kazmir had a 3.10 ERA in 31 combined starts with the Oakland Athletics and Houston Astros last year. His stuff should translate well as he switches over to the National League.

The only "problem" for the Dodgers here is that Kazmir is left-handed, just like all their other starters. But to me, that's really no problem at all. I think you have to find five guys who can pitch and go with them, regardless of what hand they use to throw the ball.

1 comment:

  1. Looks like the Dodgers also have added Japanese import Kenta Maeda to their rotation:

    http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/mlb-big-league-stew/report--dodgers-reach-agreement-with-japanese-pitcher-kenta-maeda-224303424.html

    He is right-handed.

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