Free agent news: Scott Kazmir is going to the Oakland A's on a 2 year deal worth more than $16 million UPDATE -- it is $22 million, according to various national reporters on Twitter.
Kazmir, of course, was a first round pick of the Mets in 2002 who was highly touted coming up, had three really good seasons for the Tampa Bay Rays (who acquired him for Victor Zambrano in a LOLMets deal), and then was shipped to Anaheim during the 2009 season. Kazmir had a disastrous 2010 season with the Angels, putting up a 5.94 ERA in 150 innings, pitched only 17 innings in 2011 (most of them in AAA), then didn't pitch in 2012.
Signed by the Cleveland Indians as a free agent for 2013, Kazmir put up a 4.04 ERA in 158 innings, with a 3.51 FIP. FanGraphs has him averaging 92 mph on his fastball, which is as hard as he's thrown since his salad days with Tampa.
Kazmir turns 30 in January, and there are the obvious concerns about whether he can stay healthy and whether this is a one-year fluke. But if he can come close to replicating in Oakland what he did in 2013, this will look like a smart pickup for the A's.