TODAY: The Giants will activate Kazmir prior to tonight’s game against the Cubs, and Kazmir will be the starting pitcher.
JUNE 1: The Giants placed lefty Scott Kazmir on the restricted list yesterday, with manager Gabe Kapler explaining to reporters that the southpaw had returned to his Texas home “to attend to a personal matter” (link via Kerry Crowley of the San Jose Mercury News). The team didn’t provide additional details, nor was any specification for how long Kazmir might be away from the club provided. Lefty Conner Menez was called back to the big league roster to take Kazmir’s spot.
Kazmir, 37, made an improbable return to the Majors in May after nearly five years had elapsed since his most recent outing. He tossed four innings of one-run ball in that impressive return before yielding a pair of runs in one frame in his second — and, to date, only other — appearance with the Giants. Kazmir’s 91.9 mph average fastball velocity in that pair of appearances was right in line with the numbers he posted during his last MLB run in 2014-16.
Hopefully, the left-hander will be able to return to the Giants at some point and continue what has already been a rather remarkable comeback story. For the time being, his absence from the club opens up a 40-man roster spot, as players on the restricted list don’t count against the 40-man.
Hope Kazmir’s back soon.
Great comeback story, hope he continues to grow it
I hope they lost their cat or snake in the house. Real talk, hope he and his family are doing well.
Lost a cat or snake? What???
Never been a fan, but I certainly hope that he and his family are ok
And no one cares!
I sometimes lose sight of the fact that even though these are professional ballplayers, they are also just regular fellas.
Thus, they are subject to the trials & travails of us all.
Hope he gets things sorted as I’m a total sucker for a good comeback story.
Wishing him luck and all the best, but everyone time I hear his name ,i think about the Zambrano trade ,ouch that one still hurts lol.
I remember driving home from work that day listening to WFAN, sitting in traffic I almost rear ended the car in front of me. My fiancée looked at me like WTF and I’m saying “they must have named the wrong Zambrano…” sure enough… ugh. And it wasn’t that we traded Kazmir… it was what we got for him. Didn’t the Braves get Tim Hudson a few months later for less?
Ha I remember that trade from a Devil Rays’ fan POV. When I heard it on the radio, I thought “they found a team to take that bum and we got one of the best pitching prospects in the minors?!?” It’s not like Zambrano was having a dominant season or otherworldly 1st half, his ERA was a bit over 4+ if I remember. There wasn’t much to cheer about back then as a Devil Rays fan and it was exciting when they brought Kazmir up a few weeks later.
Zambrano had just led the AL in walks! I actually bought the DRays game on MLB.com when he made his debut a few weeks later and I remember seeing all the vets on both teams being wowed in the dugout watching him pitch. Ugh, young Mets fans think they have it rough, I’m 39, had season tickets and still went to games in 2003 and 2004. That was a nightmare set of years.
I’m 40 and my dad had Devil Rays season tickets, 1998-2007 was a total nightmare 10 years lol!
Yeah I remember switching to Yankee games on commercial breaks or when the Mets had a night off and it almost felt like the Yanks were in that ugly stadium all the time crushing those awful teams they had. I swear I’ve seen like 5,000 Rocco Baldelli plate appearances! At least you guys have been able to build a sustainable winner since. Just think if they had the payroll of a big market team, they’d be a dynasty
I miss the devil rays, the young Carl crawfords of the world. BJ upton, Delmon young, Scott Kazmir.. even though they didn’t win much when they were young, they had a ton of exciting talent. Carl Crawford was amazing. Old memories.