It appears the Oakland Athletics are no longer in the running to re-sign Bartolo Colon after coming to a two-year agreement worth $22 million with Scott Kazmir who pitched extremely well in 2013.
The lefty has dealt with a number of injuries since 2008 including most of the 2011 season and in 2012 found himself pitching for Sugar Land an Independent League team. In December of 2012 he signed a minor league contract with the Cleveland Indians and made their starting rotation. Kazmir started 29 games for Cleveland and went 10-9 with a 4.04 era, threw 158 innings, struck out 162 while walking 47, a whip of 1.323 and more importantly found velocity on his fastball.
His career got started with the Tampa Bay Rays where he became one of the better pitchers in baseball. From 2005-2008 he started 117 games had a record of 45-34 with an era of 3.51, threw 689.2 innings, he struck out 742, walked 311 and a whip of 1.354. During the 2009 struggled mightily and ultimately got traded to the Los Angeles Angels where he dominated his last six starts of the season.
With Oakland he enters a rotation that already has Brett Anderson who is also rumored to get moved, Tommy Milone, Jarrod Parker, Sonny Gray, Dan Straily and A.J. Griffin. If Anderson stays here’s how the rotation may look to start the 2014 season the first four pretty much set in stone and a battle for the fifth spot begins between Griffin, Milone and Straily.
In case of a deal for Anderson does happen then the rotation becomes a battle for the fourth and fifth spot.
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