6:32pm: The Athletics are also in the hunt for the free agent southpaw, he tells Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle. There are numerous other teams still in the mix, though, she adds.
Oakland knows Kazmir as well as any team, of course. He spent all of 2014 and most of 2015 with the club after signing there as a free agent, and delivered plenty of value on his contract.
3:35pm: The Royals are in pursuit of free agent lefty Scott Kazmir, ESPN’s Buster Olney tweets. The Dodgers are also interested, as Olney notes (and as FOX Sports’ Ken Rosenthal also noted earlier this weekend). The Royals appear close to re-signing another starter, Chris Young, but it doesn’t appear that will keep them from searching for more pitching help.
Kazmir would, of course, immediately upgrade a Royals rotation that finished 12th in the AL with a 4.34 ERA last year. Kazmir’s 3.10 ERA, 7.6 K/9 and 2.9 BB/9 in 2015 would have placed him among the Royals’ best starters. Kazmir struggled down the stretch after being traded from Oakland to Houston, and he didn’t fare well the third time through the order (when batters hit .280/.335/.452 against him), so he also seems likely to benefit from the Royals’ strong bullpen. The 31-year-old Kazmir’s previous two-year deal with the A’s paid him $22MM, although he seems well positioned for a significantly larger deal this time around.
If the the royals sign Kazmir and re-sign Young they could just focus on Gordon at the winter meetings.
With the big spenders like the Angels with Gordon in their sights, Gordon will price himself out of KC
Unless the Angels nab Heyward
The past shows he Angels only go after the best with the signings of Albert Pujols and Josh Hamilton. They’ll go after Cespedes and Heyward before Gordon.
The past shows that the Angels only go after the best (Pujols and Hamilton). The Angels will go after Cespedes and Heyward before Gordon.
There are rumors going around that the Royals have signed him according to Ken Rosenthal
Well the Royals do a good job of turning has-beens into cy youngs so Im sure Kazmir will fit in nicely
Who have they turned into cy youngs? Outside of Davis and Holland, who are both relievers, they haven’t turned a starter into a cy young candidate.
Actually…. Davis was a starter. So they’ve done exactly that.
Davis hasn’t won the Cy Young. So no, they haven’t.
I believe youre missing that Cleveland turned his career around already. He was out of baseball when they brought him back in 2013. He had a half-season struggle in a hitter friendly Park. Prior to that he was straight dominant in the O. Co. If he signs with the Royals he will be a great pitcher in their Park.
I wonder if the Cardinals will come calling? A guy like Kazmir seems a little risky but after losing out on Price and Samardzija you have to wonder.
I think the dodgers will make a very attractive offer to Kazmir also after lucking out with Greinke.
I would love to see them go get him. They need to get 1 solid starter
I hope they do, cards could use a quality lefty in their rotation
This team is going to be stacked if they can sign Kaz. Or Cueto…
As a Pirates fan This could be the best news as in keeping yet another top FA out of the NL central
So hypothetical Volquez/Kazmir/Ventura/Young/Duffy/Medlen?
That’s once again sneaky good. Looks ok on paper but the consistency is excellent, love the moves. It’s not flashy but it seems more teams are recognizing flashy isn’t always the best need.
(Thanks in part to the Royals surprising success)
That pitching depth, especially if Zimmer is given a shot to break camp, would also allow them to pursue an outfielder via trade. Duffy seems like a likely option. The flashes of brilliance he’s shown will be alluring to some team I’m sure.
Royals need at least one OF bad though. Adams, Fuentes, Orlando, and Dyson could presumably battle for the other spot.
Starling in CF and Juan B. in RF. Sign Daniel Murphy and a BP guy.
Who?
I think the royals would sign him on a 3 yr deal worth around 10-15 million per year, the royals have Brett Eibner in the minors ready to take an outfield spot, then they could sign a guy like Austin Jackson or Denard Span to a 1 or 2 year deal, their is no chance for the royals to get back Alex Gordon, He wants too much money, he’s not worth 20-25 million per year Imo, it will be interesting on what they do this winter
If happ got 3/36, kazmirs gonna get 4/60
With Lackey gone, I would like for the Marlins to be in heavy on him, but I am still making the mistake of looking at us as a baseball organization
Come back Kaz!!!
The A’s are winning this year’s offseason so far. Kazmir would do well to accept 3 yrs 45 million to play at the Coliseum