Dodgers First Half Awards

Worst Offseason Move- Signing Scott Kazmir.

I’ve said before, there’s a difference between a “bad” move and a move that doesn’t work out. Often, the two go hand in hand, but there can definitely be good moves that just don’t work out.

Signing Kazmir seemed savvy at the time. Kazmir is a veteran and was coming off two good seasons, although he faltered down the stretch last season. The Dodgers needed pitching after losing Zack Greinke to Arizona, and Kazmir was a cheap veteran that showed he could pitch in the American League.

The NL hasn’t been as kind to him, as he has been extremely inconsistent this season. He was dealing with a thumb/wrist injury early on, but not including his first start, Kazmir hasn’t had an ERA under 4.00 all season. He’s gone six innings or more in eight of 18 starts, but has only gone more than six twice and more than seven once. He was signed to be the Dodgers’ number two starter, but he’s pitched more like a four or five.

He’s shown flashes of being a very good starter. His first start in San Diego couldn’t have gone better, he allowed one hit in six innings against the Cubs and he’s allowed fewer than two runs seven times. However, he’s been more bad than good, and the Dodgers took the risk of hoping he could produce closer to ace-levels at a fraction of the price. They didn’t pony up for Greinke or Johnny Cueto, and while those were both much more expensive and carried a lot more risk, they’ve also been great this season (Greinke’s looked much more Greinke-ish lately).

Kazmir’s only guaranteed to be around this season, but he can opt-in for two more years at $15 million/year. He’s struggled, so under normal circumstances he’d probably be a guarantee to opt-in. This offseason will be far from normal, as the pitching market is extremely bleak. Teams will be desperate for pitching, so there’s an outside chance Kazmir gets bigger offers elsewhere and opts out. That would probably be the best scenario for the Dodgers, as they have pitchers finally coming back healthy and a few pitchers ready to make the leap from the minors.

Dishonorable Mentions- Brett Anderson (but that was a qualifying offer so ehh), Yaisel Sierra

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