MLB: Scott Kazmir kicking the tires on a comeback
![02 July 2016: Los Angeles Dodgers Starting pitcher Scott Kazmir (29) [3143] smiles after exiting the game during a Major League Baseball between the Colorado Rockies and the Los Angeles Dodgers at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, CA. (Photo by Chris Williams/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_fill,w_1080,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/shape%2Fcover%2Fsport%2F1d1d1545692ef4caa1d7ae8fd2e1ec46ea3fb708c2fbea1dd80466bc6beb13ec.jpg "02 July 2016: Los Angeles Dodgers Starting pitcher Scott Kazmir (29) [3143] smiles after exiting the game during a Major League Baseball between the Colorado Rockies and the Los Angeles Dodgers at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, CA. (Photo by Chris Williams/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)")
After a 3-year hiatus, former MLB pitcher Scott Kazmir is dialing it back up and the Sugar Land Skeeters couldn’t be happier.
Former first-round draft pick Scott Kazmir has recently been seen working out at the Driveline Baseball Facility in Houston. Kazmir is dialing up those fastballs with hopes of signing with a MLB team for the 2020 season. If you haven’t heard the name Scott Kazmir in a while, you’re not the only one. He hasn’t pitched in the big leagues since 2016.
Kazmir won 55 games and made two all-star appearances in his years with the Tampa Bay Rays before moving onto the Los Angeles Angels for parts of three injury-plagued years. By 2012 Scott Kazmir found himself out of the Majors but not out of baseball.
More from Call to the Pen
- Philadelphia Phillies, ready for a stretch run, bomb St. Louis Cardinals
- Philadelphia Phillies: The 4 players on the franchise’s Mount Rushmore
- Boston Red Sox fans should be upset over Mookie Betts’ comment
- Analyzing the Boston Red Sox trade for Dave Henderson and Spike Owen
- 2023 MLB postseason likely to have a strange look without Yankees, Red Sox, Cardinals
He was able to showcase his talents for an Independent team out of the Atlantic League called the Sugar Land Skeeters. After going 3-6 with a 5.34 ERA against AAA equivalent competition somehow Kazmir earned an audition with the Cleveland Indians. And that audition paid dividends.
In 2013 Kazmir was a ten-game winner with the Indians before moving on to Oakland in 2014, who has a history of low-risk, high-reward signings. At this stop, he won15 games with an ERA under 4.00 while collecting another all-star selection.
After spending a forgettable 2015 splitting time between Oakland and Houston Kazmir somehow convinced the Dodgers to sign him to a three year $48 million-dollar deal. The injury bug bit that first year and Kazmir was shelved in mid-August with thoracic spine inflammation.
Hip and intercostal injuries meant Kazmir would not appear in Dodger Blue again and he was shipped to Atlanta after sitting out the entire 2017 season. He was injured again in spring training and released, presumably ending his MLB career.
Next. Scott Boras laughing all the way to the bank. dark
Now three years since last appearing in an MLB game he’s attempting a comeback. He’s worked out privately for one club while drawing interest from others. Even if Scott Kazmir can shake off the rust and obtain a minor league contract, odds are he’s cut before camp ends and he becomes the Opening Day starter for those Skeeters.