With a weak free agent class as far as starting pitchers goes, one would expect most pitchers with a choice to join in on free agency. That isn't the case with Dodgers lefty Scott Kazmir, apparently:
Scott Kazmir did not opt out of final 2 yrs/$32M on #Dodgers deal (deadline was yest). With bad fr agt SP mkt may draw trade interest
— Joel Sherman (@Joelsherman1) November 7, 2016
Kazmir was very good in 2015 and that helped him land the three-year, $48 million deal with the Dodgers last offseason. It included the aforementioned opt-out clause after this season and Kazmir has not used it. So he's still under contract with the Dodgers for two more seasons and $32 million total.
Though the free agent starting pitching crop is weak (the top names are Rich Hill, Andrew Cashner, Ivan Nova, Jason Hammel types), it's hard telling if Kazmir would have done better than $32 million over two years if he did, indeed, opt out.
Yes, pitching costs a ton these days, but Kazmir's history is littered with injuries and inconsistency. Last season, he pitched to a 4.56 ERA (85 ERA+) and he's now entering his age-33 season.
For the Dodgers, if everyone is healthy, they'll have a logjam of starters. The following are under contract and good enough to merit a spot in a big-league rotation: Clayton Kershaw, Julio Urias, Kenta Maeda, Brandon McCarthy, Kazmir, Alex Wood, Hyun-Jin Ryu and probably even Jose De Leon. There's also Ross Stripling, Carlos Frias and Brock Stewart.
Suffice it to say, the Dodgers have pitching depth. They can probably afford to trade a few of them, too, in 0rder to upgrade other roster spots.
