After last pitching in the majors nearly five years ago, left-hander Scott Kazmir was recalled by the San Francisco Giants and will start in Saturday’s home game against the Los Angeles Dodgers, one of his former teams.
Kazmir, 37, was elevated from Triple-A Sacramento after going 1-0 with a 2.84 ERA in a pair of outings (one start). His last major league appearance was on Sept. 23, 2016, with the Dodgers in a one-inning bullpen stint against the Colorado Rockies.
The three-time All-Star then pitched in four games (three starts) for Class-A Rancho Cucamonga in 2017 but his career appeared over when he went without a team for the next two years as he battled recurring arm injuries. He began his comeback attempt in 2020 in an independent league, leading to a minor league deal with the Giants last February.
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“I talked to him late, late, late last night and again this morning,” Giants manager Gabe Kapler, once a teammate with Kazmir in 2009 with the Tampa Bay Rays, told reporters Saturday. “It’s actually pretty gratifying to deliver that to him. Through the phone, I could tell he was smiling.”
For his career over parts of 12 seasons, Kazmir is 108-96 with a 4.01 ERA in 298 games (297 starts). He pitched for the Rays (2004-09), Los Angeles Angels (2009-11), Cleveland Indians (2013), Oakland Athletics (2014-15), Houston Astros (2015) and Dodgers (2016). He led the American League with 239 strikeouts in 2007 while with Tampa Bay, and a year later helped the Rays to a World Series appearance.
In related moves, the Giants designated outfielder Braden Bishop for assignment while optioning left-hander Sam Selman to Triple-A.
–Field Level Media