6:21pm: Kazmir will earn a $600K base salary if he makes the Giants, Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle tweets. His deal doesn’t include any opt-out dates.
1:31pm: Comeback season is upon us, it seems. The Giants have agreed to a minor league contract with left-hander Scott Kazmir, reports ESPN’s Buster Olney. He’ll be invited to Major League Spring Training.
It’s been nearly five years since Kazmir, now 37, pitched in the Majors with the Dodgers. Current San Francisco president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi was serving as general manager under president Andrew Friedman in Los Angeles at that point, and he was also an assistant GM in the Athletics’ front office in 2013 when Oakland inked Kazmir to a two-year deal.
There’s some obvious history between Zaidi and Kazmir, who at one point was one of the game’s brightest young starters. Kazmir broke out with the Rays in 2005, drawing Rookie of the Year votes that season and going on to make a pair of All-Star teams with Tampa Bay, where he posted a 3.51 ERA and a 25.1 percent strikeout rate from 2005-2008 (back when the league-average strikeout percentage was just 17 percent).
Injuries looked to have derailed Kazmir’s career after a disastrous stint with the Angels. He recorded just five outs in the Majors from 2011-12 and looked to be in danger of washing out entirely before even celebrating his 30th birthday. But Kazmir parlayed a minor league deal with the Indians — not unlike the one he’s now signing with the Giants — into a strong rebound campaign in 2013. He rewarded the A’s with an All-Star season in ’14 and a strong first half in ’15 before being traded to the Astros. Injuries again waylaid Kazmir in the second and third seasons of his three-year pact with the Dodgers, and he hasn’t been on a big league mound since Sept. 2016.
Overall, Kazmir owns a lifetime 4.01 ERA that, remarkably, is an exact match with both his FIP and his SIERA. He’s fanned 22.2 percent of his opponents at the MLB level against a 9.4 percent walk rate. Those numbers come across as that of a third or fourth starter, but Kazmir has shown on multiple occasions that when he’s at his best, he’s a good deal better than that.
Whether he has anything left in the tank remains to be seen, but Olney notes that Kazmir hit 92-93 mph in recent bullpen sessions. He’s never been a particularly hard thrower, so that velocity aligns nicely with Kazmir’s peak years. Even during his All-Star campaigns in 2006, 2008 and 2014, Kazmir averaged just north of 91 mph on his heater.
There’s no harm in the Giants taking a look this spring to see if Kazmir has another rebound in him — even if this comeback seems all the more improbable given his age and his considerably longer layoff from pitching in the Majors. He’ll add another intriguing, high-upside arm to a Giants staff that has rolled the dice on Aaron Sanchez, Alex Wood and Anthony DeSclafani on Major League deals.
Scott Kazmir for whatever reason has always been someone I root for. I wish him the best of luck, hopefully we see him in the bigs sometime soon!
Same. Seems like a good guy, and I shipped him golf gear when I worked at our local golf store. So, that’s my claim to fame. And it was after his first rebound with the Indians/A’s.
Scott also went to the same high school as Jaime Bubela. I don’t think they overlapped.
Same, I always liked the lefty! Since the devil rays! He’s the last one from the Carl Crawford, bj upton, old school Tampa bay devil rays era. They weren’t any good, but they had some individual great players. Delmon young as well.. Jays fan, so I remember our rivals very well.
Delmon’s brother, Dimitri, had one of the all-time great card collections. He sold his Richie Allen for $1,539.60, and Ted Simmons for $1,864.80. Man, would I like to have those two in my collection at those prices.
If you have an interest in cards, just check out the Dimitri auction. Nothing real old, but the quality was pristine.
He did have a great collection but I read he sent cards in over and over, as well as pressured the graders, until he got the pristine grades. Not to say the cards are garbage, im just adding to the story….
I think Delmon Young will always be known for drop kicking the catcher before charging the mound.
I hope Scott Kazmir succeeds.
yeah him and tommy milone are guys that I root for for no particular reason – I hope he makes the team at some point and does well
Oh, let the sun beat down upon Scott’s face
And Giants fill his dream
one can hope
Dreaming about giants? I had a dream about giants they were throwing me miles and miles.
I hope Scott Kazmir comeback goes better than Mark Mulders did. Amazing he can still touch 92. Hope he can channel his inner Andy Benes
Kasmir? LOL . Why don’t they just go ahead and bring ‘Timmy’ back.
Like Shangri-la beneath the summer moon he will return again. As the dust that floats finds you, we’re rooting for Kazmir.
Does anyone remember laughter?
kashmir!
Yeah, some of his innings are like that infernal midsection of said tune. They go on and on and on and on
this is actually so exciting
You can’t be serious???? Is this a PR move?
And he’s still getting paid by the dodgers this year lol
Yes last year of deferred money from the deal back in 2016. $8m
The San Francisco Giants and Zaidi picking up more ‘Scraps’ from the Dodger dinner table.
2020WorldChampions:
Seriously? You’re going to claim Kazmir as a Dodger? He pitched for one season in his 12 year career in LA, and that was 5 years ago. A bit of a stretch on your part. He was more a Ray, Angel, and Athletic than he ever was a Dodger. Besides, chances are he’ll never make the Giants roster anyway.
You’re an idiot.
Please don’t have children.
Haven’t heard his name in a while
Zaidi and the Giants scraping the bottom of the barrel . Going for the big push here in the ‘Battle for 4th place’ in the NL WEST…..HAHAHAHAA
You’re a joke man, obviously you have no clue about baseball, just some sick obsession about the Giants and their dealings. Bet it was painful to watch them grab three rings huh?
Why is this in top stories lol. Good luck to Kazmir, maybe he will have a late resurgence
Kazmir is part of a long list of pitchers who had disastrous stints as an Angel: Harvey, Cahill, Blanton, Lincecum, Stratton…..
Those guys make CJ Wilson look like a great addition.
…..Ohtani….
Ohtani looks like Cy Young compared to this group and has been a plus bat 2 out of 3 years. He doesn’t belong on this list.
Cody Allen, Julio Teheran…..we’ve had some utter disasters here. And plenty of them.
Soon you can add Alex Cobb to that list.
Probably.
Every team has that list.
Pujols
That Pujols signing is one of the worst of all time. Imagine how many other pieces they could’ve augmented Trout with had they passed on him.
Even with Pujols, the Angels have spent plenty of money and had a lot of opportunities to surround Trout with help to build a contender. The organization just makes terrible decisions. I don’t see that being any different had they not signed Pujols. One bad signing hasn’t been the problem…that issue begins and ends with one bad owner.
It is a bit of both. The Angels payroll is large and with any amount of drafting and development could have surrounded Trout with plenty of talent.
But when Arte is willing to shell out huge bucks for Pujols and guys like Hamilton, Upton, etc. but then skimps on scouting and development and avoids taking the luxury tax hit it really hamstrings the GM.
To be fair, the year they acquired him for the end of the year, he was good. The next year was a train wreck
True
well cahill and lincecum were pretty good giants
Kent Bottenfield…..
Man if this was the early 2010’s, their pitching staff would be one of the best in the NL…..
They did have one of the better staffs in the NL in the early 2010s.
Can’t believe he’s only 37, honestly. When he broke into the league, Vlad Guerrero and Barry Bonds won the mvp’s.
Great for him!
I’m going to be so excited to see this Giants’ rotation in action this season, and especially with the additions of Kazmir and Sanchez. LGG?
I bet he Kazmir posts a better WAR than the Shark.
If only they will sign Bartolo Colon too.
Same comment on every single article. Yay! Over and over and over and over.
Comeback Player of the Year. I’m calling it.
If it’s a MLB award it’s going to Trey Mancini. Dude was diagnosed with cancer a year ago. If he’s anything above 0.0 WAR he’ll be taking that one home.
It’s per league. Last year was Daniel Bard and Salvador Perez.
Thanks.
should’ve told that to the NHL last year when Lindblom came back within the same year and still didnt get their equivalent.
LOVED HIM!!!
When will Victor Zambrano make his comeback? This trade just keeps haunting the Mets.
Since no one in MLB threw a full season, guys like Kazmir are on a more even footing than they would be in a normal year. Zaidi said he was looking at NRIs to evaluate at spring training. Makes sense.
Sure, why not? Cole Hamels is still out there too…
Wow, what century is this? Good luck to him/
Definitley an interesting signing. Maybe he has something left in the tank. Giants have been really good as of recently at picking up pieces off the scrapheap just to get some pretty solid players out of them.
I didn’t know he still existed. It’s wild that he was involved in that Adrian Gonzalez trade with the Braves and Dodgers.
In other news, Tiger Woods career ended today after wrecking a car blazed out on pain killers.
Multiple leg surgeries, he’s done.
You are definitely one of the biggest turds on these boards. What makes a troll, troll? I’m curious. Do you hate your life? Do you just like being a useless idiot? In all seriousness, why do you suck this bad?
You guys both suck
Eat me Steve. Another useless tool heard from…..
Suck so bad. Wasn’t that a Chuck Mangione ditty?
I just heard Dennis Eckersley’s new schedule is to telecast Red Sox games for 6 innings, and then come in to pitch in the ninth.
Ruh roh.
Spaghetti. Oh.
Giants always find/unlock value so I wouldn’t count him out. Always was a favorite of mine.
Kazmir pitched in the 2020 Constellation Energy League that the Sugarland Skeeters put on when the Atlantic League forewent their season.
there were a few interesting names that played for them last year. Still waiting for Jaime Westbrook to get his ML shot.
He only threw 15 innings and had a 4.2 ERA. I’m rooting for him, but the odds are against him it seems
2021 Cy Young Award Winner. MARK IT DOWN
Atlanta Braves legend
interesting Gabe Kapler was in the same dodger system in 2016 as Kazmir was last heard from
Maybe Giants will look into Sidd Finch capturing the magic he had with mets
Sid also is getting a little long in the tooth, but word is he’s developed an unbelievable knuckleball. It’s virtually unhittable because he throws it upside down. With a submarine motion it behaves just the opposite way in which a normal knuckler does. Hitters are baffled & flummoxed because they’ve never seen anything like it, & video tape doesn’t help much, unless they reverse the tape to watch a mirror image. Whether this 2nd career will be any longer than his 1st is an open question.
The truly amazing thing about the pitch is that it passes the plate and then turns around and comes to him thus allowing an extra fielder in fair territory.
I dunno why, but everytime I hear mention of Sidd Finch, I think of Mark Fidrych
Just type out the two words “don’t know” and stop baby talking. Nobody thinks it’s cute.
Rooting for him to do well after such a long layoff. He could also crack $100M in career earnings.
Good for him. Always been a fan of Kaz.
Man, what rock did Farhan turn over that he found Scott Kazmir?
blast from the freaking past. Hope he kills it! That was first real “fleece” trade the Rays ever made. Victor zambrano to the mets for him
Are the Dodgers still paying him?
That’s a blast from the past.
Another Zaidi dumpster dive. At least Kazmir is a left handed pitcher; 37 years old.
I don’t mean to be a snob, but the assertion “he was never a particularly hard thrower,” is, at best, misleading. When he was young and with the Devil Rays, Kazmir was known for being one of the hardest throwing pitchers in the bigs. Times have changed, but he sat 93 back in 2007 per Fangraphs, which was very hard back then. I’m a Yankees fan, and literally every time he pitched against the Yanks the announcers would talk about how he was one of the hardest throwing starters in baseball.
93 was not “very hard” in 2007. Or 1997.
but it was in 1887,.
avg fastball in 2007 – 90.2
avg fastball in 1997 – 90.47
so yeah it actually it was “very hard” in both those years
As a met fan I feel old remembering when we traded him away for friggin Victor Zambrano.
As a fellow lefty, I root for this guy. (never really rooted for LOOGYS…just lefties…) Plus his career has had wicked ups and downs…Topped out at mid 80’s myself, which means I played OF….Would love to see him re-re-make it…
As a fellow American, I pledge allegiance to the flag
Can’t believe it’s been 5 years since he last pitched in the majors.. good for him. Hope he makes the big league club.
I’ve been supportive of most of FZ’s moves, but this one . . .a bridge too far.
yep, pretty risky deal right?
Ah yes, very risky to have pitching depth at AAA with major league experience. This could totally hamstring them just like Tyson Ross did last year.
@pete, are you afraid to drink free water when you’re thirsty too?
really reaching here
I felt like I was having deja vu and that this already happened. I looked at his baseball reference page and realized a comeback after being out of baseball for multiple years already did happen. I just can’t believe it was that long ago and that it’s already been 5 years since he last pitched in the bigs. Can’t help but root for a comeback story like that.
Kaz was the modern day opener before the opener even existed. The knock on him was he threw too many pitches and was out of the game by the 5th. He just picked the wrong generation to pitch in. He would be Blake Snell today and probably would have had his workload managed much differently and had a big pay day. He basically signaled the change of pitching throughout baseball to what it is today. That’s not a good thing lol
Feel like he’s gotta be 45 by now. 37, wow.
Great news! I wish him the best.
Juan Marichal and Gaylord Perry throwing bullpen sessions next
Kazmir is still making money from the Dodgers (9 mil) so this would be mad money.
if I recall kazmir was a salary dump wasn’t he – didn’t he get acquired for cash with an additional comp pick?
Alex Wood and now Kazmir. Starting to look like Zaidi will sign any former Dodger he knew a decade ago. Maybe Eric Gagne can dust off the glove and come be closer; that role is still open on the Giants.
Might as well bring Matt Cain, Tim Lincecum, Johnathan Sanchez, Brian Wilson and Barry Zito back. Maybe even Barry Bonds, Jeff Kent and Rich Aurilia.
Or not
You missed Willie McCovey
yeah I mean look at all these former giants they signed like, um. nobody.
@whor – 2 of those names were signed as former Giants friend
When you reach the bottom of the barrel,
Then it’s time to find a new barrel….
Just how many barrels does Zaidi have anyway??
What in the name of Victor Zambrano is this!?
The rich get richer
That’s what 4 years of rest and hgh will do for ya… 93mph at 37 good for him if he gets the spot!!
Zaidi don’t like it. Rock the Kazmir! Rock the Kazmir!
Wow, I can’t believe he’s only 37! I remember him being one of the best Devil Rays
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