The Angels have released left-hander Scott Kazmir, reports Mike DiGiovanna of the L.A. Times. (Twitter link) We heard earlier today that the move was imminent in the wake of Kazmir's poor performance in rehab starts, and DiGiovanna confirms that the Halos will indeed pick up the rest of Kazmir's remaining salary. That total will be the $7MM left on Kazmir's $12MM 2011 salary and the $2.5MM buyout of his 2012 option.
Kazmir posted a 3.51 ERA and 742 strikeouts in 689 2/3 innings for the Rays between 2005 and 2008, including a league-high 239 K's in 2007. Since then, he has dealt with a number of injuries, and Tampa Bay dealt him to the Angels in August 2009. The southpaw has managed just a 5.31 ERA and 5.7 K/9 in 35 starts with Los Angeles.
