Rebound season nets Kazmir two-year deal with A's
Lefty won 10 for Tribe after being out of Majors in '12, will reportedly get $22 million
OAKLAND -- The A's are in the final stages of adding lefty Scott Kazmir to their rotation on a two-year agreement, a Major League source confirmed to MLB.com on Monday.
Oakland has not yet confirmed the deal, which is pending a physical, but it's reportedly worth $22 million.
The pact effectively ends the club's pursuit of re-signing Bartolo Colon, who is demanding more money than the budget-constrained A's can give him. Colon won 18 games in his 2013 All-Star campaign, but he's also five months shy of his 41st birthday, a major reason why the A's didn't like the idea of exploring a multiyear deal with him.
Kazmir finished the 2013 season 10-9 with a 4.04 ERA in 29 starts for the Indians, averaging 9.2 strikeouts and 2.7 walks per nine innings. Notably, he went 7-5 with a 3.06 ERA in his final 18 starts, flashing improved velocity, and in turn, a glimpse at the stuff that made him a first-round Draft pick by the Mets in 2002.
Traded to Tampa Bay two years later, Kazmir posted a 3.61 ERA in his first five years with the Rays, earning a couple of All-Star nods along the way. But injuries and mechanical issues quickly derailed his career, and the Angels released him after just one start in 2011. That marked his last big league appearance before this year.
The revived Kazmir, who will turn 30 in January, not only fortifies the A's rotation, but adds enough depth to potentially allow the team to entertain trade offers for the oft-injured Brett Anderson, who will earn $8 million in 2014.
Should Anderson depart, the A's still have Sonny Gray, Jarrod Parker, A.J. Griffin and Dan Straily to complement Kazmir, with Tommy Milone also in the mix.