The Houston Astros should trade for Scott Kazmir because the Astros could use a second left-handed pitcher in the starting rotation. The Astros starting rotation has done relatively well recently, despite a lack of a reliable answer for the fifth spot in the rotation. Dan Straily is now in that slot but didn’t have a great first start against the Red Sox on Friday.
According to Astros.com article by Brian McTaggart, Crane: Astros trying to trade for a starter, the Astros are indeed trying to make the starting staff a little deeper. According to McTaggart’s interview, the Astros are ready to make a trade when the appropriate one materializes.
Below is a quote from Jim Crane from McTaggart’s article, “If we can get the right move, I’m sure [general manager] Jeff [Luhnow] will pull the trigger,” Crane said. “He has the ability to do that if he wants to do it. It will depend on what kind of contract it is and how long it is and who it is and what we need, but I know it’s something a lot of teams are looking at right now. I’m sure they’re working hard at it.”
One of the pitchers that have been rumored to have the Astros interest is Oakland Athletics’ left-hander Scott Kazmir, who is originally from Houston. Once a top prospect, he struggled so bad that he was out of the MLB pitching for the local Sugar Land Skeeters in 2012. The Cleaveland Indians gave him a chance in 2013, and he made the most of it going 10-9 with a 4.04 ERA. He then signed a three-year contract with the Oakland Athletics, where he has started to live up to his early promise as a pitcher.
But is he the right guy for the Astros?
Next: Is Scott Kazmir a Good Fit For the Astros?
Is Scott Kazmir a Good Fit For the Astros?
Jun 27, 2015; Oakland, CA, USA; Oakland Athletics starting pitcher Scott Kazmir (26) throws against the Kansas City Royals in the first inning of their MLB baseball game at O.co Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Lance Iversen-USA TODAY Sports
It might seem weird that I argued for Johnny Cueto the other day here, The Houston Astros Should Trade for Johnny Cueto, and now I will argue for Scott Kazmir. At this point of the July trade deadline, it is difficult to know who is going where. What we are doing is looking at what the particular pitcher can add to the Astros rotation? So what does Scott Kazmir offer the Houston Astros specifically?
The Astros pitchers have been successful due to their ability to get ground balls hit in crucial situations. While Dallas Keuchel is the best of them with his ability to get 64% of batted balls against him to be hit on the ground. Scott Kazmir is getting 46% of his batted balls hit against him to be hit on the ground while allowing 33.1% fly-balls. While it’s not as good as Keuchel, he still has an above one fly ball to ground ball ratio, which is 1.39. Only 8% of his fly balls hit go for home runs, which he has allowed seven on the year.
Kazmir strikes out 23% (8.42/ 9 innings) of the hitters faced while walking 8.3% (3.02/9 innings). Keuchel strikes out 21.3% (7.38/ 9 innings) of the hitters faced while walking 6.5% (2.24/ 9 innings). Kazmir has the better ability to strike out the hitter while Keuchel has better control and getting ground balls.
Let’s Compare the two pitchers pitch types and speed below. (Stats from FanGraphs)
As you can see, Scott Kazmir throws faster than Keuchel does and has a curveball that Keuchel does not feature. Having a left-hander in the rotation like Kazmir would be a good complement to Keuchel and could offer contrasting pitcher styles to the other teams.
In 2015, Kazmir has a 5-5 record/ 2.56 ERA/ 92 strikeouts in 98.1 innings. Adding a plus arm to a rotation that would already have Keuchel, Lance McCullers, Collin McHugh, and Scott Feldman would improve it greatly. It would also set the Astros up with a great 1-2-3 punch with McCullers between the two left-handed pitchers in the 2015 playoffs.
Are there risks to adding a pitcher with the injury history like Kazmir? Yes, but he has proved the past three years that he can stay healthy and be a top of the rotation type guy. He will not probably have the same Randy Johnson like impact on the 2015 Astros like Johnny Cueto might offer, he might come at a little cheaper price should the Athletics decide to sell. Kazmir’s most recent game was probably his best of the year last Thursday in a 4-0 win, where he retired the first thirteen hitters that he faced.
What would Kazmir cost the Houston Astros?
Next: What would the Astros have to give up for Kazmir?
What would the Astros have to give up for Kazmir?
Jun 27, 2015; Houston, TX, USA; Houston Astros left fielder Santana (13) hits a double against the New York Yankees in the second inning at Minute Maid Park. Mandatory Credit: Thomas B. Shea-USA TODAY Sports
While it is very hard to predict what Billy Beane will do as the Atheltic’s GM, but let’s give it a shot.
Any trade for a starting pitcher will include Domingo Santana, who has increased his stock with a positive performance while he was up with the Astros, versus what he did last year. The Athletics desperately need some power in their lineup, with the loss of Josh Donaldson and Brandon Moss in the offseason.
The Astros would probably have to give up one of their young arms in Mark Appel, Vincent Velasquez, or Michael Feliz in any trade to get Kazmir. The A’s, will, of course, start off with Velasquez because there is proof of what he can do in the majors so far. Appel’s name will come up, and he is in desperate need for a change of scenery. It’s starting to look like the Astros plans for Feliz is to be a late innings reliever, by the way they are handling him this year. Which one will be included? I would lean Appel at the moment, even though they could substitute a lower level pitcher in the trade. With the emergence of Joe Musgrove and Daniel Mengden, the Astros might be willing to part with Appel.
I am not a GM, but trading for Kazmir might be better because he is a hometown boy, who the Astros could easily extend his contract or re-sign him in the offseason. Jeff Luhnow will have a discussion with Kazmir’s agent before making a decision. I just hope he is not bitter at the Astros for not giving him a shot while he was pitching with the Sugar Land Skeeters. He could be the missing link to get the Astros past the first round of the playoffs.
The Astros desperately need another top of the rotation guy, and Kazmir fits the mold. What other candidates are there, and what are the pros and cons of them? Read the rest of the series below.
%20%20--%3E%0A%3Csvg%20version%3D%221.1%22%20xmlns%3D%22http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg%22%20xmlns%3Axlink%3D%22http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F1999%2Fxlink%22%20x%3D%220px%22%20y%3D%220px%22%0A%09%20viewBox%3D%220%200%201055.1%20200%22%20style%3D%22enable-background%3Anew%200%200%201055.1%20200%3B%22%20xml%3Aspace%3D%22preserve%22%3E%0A%3Cstyle%20type%3D%22text%2Fcss%22%3E%0A%09.st0%7Bfill%3A%23231F20%3B%7D%0A%09.st1%7Bfill%3A%230E203C%3B%7D%0A%09.st2%7Bfill%3A%23EC4324%3B%7D%0A%09.st3%7Bfill%3A%23FFFFFF%3B%7D%0A%3C%2Fstyle%3E%0A%3Cg%20id%3D%22Template%22%3E%0A%3C%2Fg%3E%0A%3Cg%20id%3D%22Layer_2%22%3E%0A%09%3Cpath%20class%3D%22st3%22%20d%3D%22M58.3%2C200.3h82.4c12.4%2C0%2C21.7-1.5%2C28-4.5c20.2-9.6%2C30.2-26.1%2C30.2-49.3c0-3.2-0.2-9.3-0.6-18.3h-65.1v14.9%0A%09%09c-0.9%2C3.9-3.4%2C5.8-7.5%2C5.8H73.2c-5%2C0-7.5-2.5-7.5-7.5V59.2c0-5%2C2.5-7.5%2C7.5-7.5h52.5c5%2C0%2C7.5%2C2.1%2C7.5%2C6.4v10.8h65.7V55.7%0A%09%09c0-16.3-3.8-28.3-11.4-36.1c-8.8-12.9-24.7-19.3-47.4-19.3H58.9C47%2C0.3%2C38%2C1.7%2C32%2C4.3c-21.3%2C9-32%2C26.1-32%2C51.4v88%0A%09%09c0%2C16.5%2C3.6%2C28.7%2C10.9%2C36.6C20.1%2C193.7%2C35.9%2C200.3%2C58.3%2C200.3z%22%2F%3E%0A%09%3Cpolygon%20class%3D%22st3%22%20points%3D%22596.6%2C64%20596.6%2C0.8%20400.1%2C0.8%20400.1%2C64%20442.7%2C64%20442.7%2C51.3%20466.1%2C51.3%20466.1%2C148.1%20442.1%2C148.1%20%0A%09%09442.1%2C199.9%20554.8%2C199.9%20554.8%2C148.1%20531.5%2C148.1%20531.5%2C51.4%20554.8%2C51.4%20554.8%2C64%20%09%22%2F%3E%0A%09%3Cpolygon%20class%3D%22st3%22%20points%3D%22942.4%2C148.5%20942.4%2C200.2%201055.1%2C200.2%201055.1%2C148.5%201031.8%2C148.5%201031.8%2C51.2%201055.1%2C51.2%201055.1%2C0.8%20%0A%09%09943.1%2C0.8%20943.1%2C51.3%20966.3%2C51.3%20966.3%2C80%20888.9%2C80%20888.9%2C51.3%20912.6%2C51.3%20912.6%2C0.5%20800.1%2C0.8%20800.1%2C51.4%20823.5%2C51.4%20823.5%2C148.6%20%0A%09%09800.1%2C148.6%20800.1%2C200.1%20912.6%2C200.1%20912.6%2C148.6%20888.9%2C148.6%20888.9%2C116.4%20966.3%2C116.4%20966.3%2C148.5%20%09%22%2F%3E%0A%09%3Cpolygon%20class%3D%22st2%22%20points%3D%22315.5%2C83.9%20299.6%2C34.9%20283.7%2C83.9%20232.2%2C83.9%20273.9%2C114.1%20258%2C163.1%20299.6%2C132.8%20341.3%2C163.1%20%0A%09%09325.4%2C114.1%20367%2C83.9%20%09%22%2F%3E%0A%09%3Cpolygon%20class%3D%22st2%22%20points%3D%22715.6%2C83.9%20699.7%2C34.9%20683.8%2C83.9%20632.3%2C83.9%20674%2C114.1%20658%2C163.1%20699.7%2C132.8%20741.3%2C163.1%20%0A%09%09725.4%2C114.1%20767.1%2C83.9%20%09%22%2F%3E%0A%3C%2Fg%3E%0A%3C%2Fsvg%3E%0A)
