Kazmir finished the season on the injured list after straining his right hamstring during the final week of the regular season. The 37-year-old (38 in January) tells Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle that he’s returned to full health a little less than a month later. Kazmir adds that he intends to continue pitching next season, assuming he receives interest from teams.

The three-time All-Star will be a free agent this winter, but it indeed seems likely he’ll field some minor league offers. There’s no harm for clubs in giving the respected veteran a chance to compete for a job in Spring Training, and Kazmir is coming off an alright showing in the minors.

Over 52 2/3 frames with the River Cats, Kazmir posted a 4.61 ERA in the hitter-friendly Triple-A West. His strikeout and walk rates (22.1% and 8.3%, respectively) were right around the league average. Kazmir’s brief major league time didn’t go well, as he was tagged for nine runs (including three homers) in 11 1/3 frames. But his passable showing in Triple-A combined with a wealth of big league experience should get him another look next spring.

That could again be with the Giants, where president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi has a relationship with Kazmir that dates back to their time with the Dodgers from 2015-17. The left-hander tells Slusser he’d welcome a return to San Francisco.

Sept. 21: The Giants are planning to bring southpaw Scott Kazmir back to start tomorrow night’s game against the Padres, manager Gabe Kapler told reporters (including Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle). Kazmir is not on the 40-man roster, but San Francisco opened a spot by passing reliever Reyes Moronta through outright waivers this afternoon.

Kazmir returns for his second big league try this season. The veteran signed a minor league deal with San Francisco over the offseason and completed a remarkable comeback effort by earning a big league call in late May. He picked up his first big league action in five years this spring, but Kazmir made just three appearances (including two starts) before being designated for assignment. He worked seven innings over those three games, allowing five runs on eight hits (including three homers) and a walk while striking out seven.

After being outrighted off the 40-man roster, Kazmir joined the U.S. National Team at the Tokyo Olympics this summer. He made just one start there, tossing five scoreless innings in a win over the Dominican Republic. He returned to the Giants’ top affiliate in Sacramento after the conclusion of international competition and has made six starts for the River Cats over the past month. He’s worked 52 2/3 frames in Triple-A this season altogether, posting a 4.61 ERA with strikeout and walk rates (22.1% and 8.3%, respectively) not far off the league average.

Johnny Cueto remains on the injured list, leaving the Giants a man short in the rotation behind Kevin Gausman, Anthony DeSclafani, Logan Webb and Alex Wood. Kazmir will get another opportunity to step into that role. San Francisco entered play tonight up one game on the Dodgers in the NL West. They’ll close out the week with road series against the Padres and Rockies before returning home to host the D-Backs and Padres to end the regular season.

JUNE 5, 5:25 PM: Kazmir has officially been DFA’d by the Giants. Camilo Doval has been recalled to claim his roster spot, per Maria I. Guardado of MLB.com (via Twitter). Doval owns a 7.59 ERA/7.54 FIP in 13 appearances covering 10 2/3 innings on the year.

JUNE 5, 1:51 PM: The Giants have designated left-hander Scott Kazmir for assignment, The San Francisco Chronicle’s Susan Slusser reports.  The move could end Kazmir’s comeback attempt after three appearances and seven total innings.

Kazmir last pitched in the majors with the Dodgers in 2016, and his career had seemingly drawn to a close before the southpaw announced a comeback attempt in early 2020.  His efforts led to a minor league deal with San Francisco this past offseason, and Kazmir then found himself on a big league mound once more after the Giants selected his contract two weeks ago.

As one might expect, it wasn’t entirely smooth sailing for Kazmir after his long layoff, as he posted a 6.43 ERA over his seven innings and was tagged for three home runs.  Kazmir started two of his three games, and only just returned to the Giants to start last night’s contest after spending a few days on the restricted list.  Slusser reports that Kazmir stepped away from the team to mourn the death of his best friend, who passed away last Tuesday.

It’s possible another team might be intrigued by what they’ve seen in Kazmir and could make a waiver claim, though probably the likeliest outcome is that the veteran clears waivers.  Assuming Kazmir is open to continuing his comeback attempt, he would likely be willing to accept an outright assignment to the minors, or the Giants could conceivably just release him if they feel he doesn’t offer much more to the team.

Logan Webb was placed back on the 10-day IL just two days ago with another shoulder issue, while Aaron Sanchez is also still sidelined recovering from biceps tightness.  Sanchez had reportedly been throwing side sessions, however, so the Kazmir DFA could be a sign that the Giants are expecting Sanchez back relatively soon.  San Francisco also has a chance to reset its rotation due to an off-day on Monday.

Tropeano, 30, has appeared in four games with the Giants and tossed six innings, holding opponents to just a run on four hits and two walks. He’s punched out two hitters as well. The former Angels righty was at one point a prospect of fair note, ranking well within both the Houston and Anaheim farm systems. He’s dealt with some injuries, most notably Tommy John surgery, but at his best Tropeano has looked the part of a respectable fourth or fifth starter. From 2014-18, he pitched to a 4.15 ERA with a 21 percent strikeout rate and a 9.4 percent walk rate in 203 2/3 innings.

San Francisco will have a week to either trade Tropeano, place him on outright waivers or release him. He has the right to reject an outright assignment in favor of free agency should he go unclaimed, at which point he’d be able to seek new opportunities with another club — perhaps one with a more pressing pitching need. Then again, the Giants frequently shuffle their pitching mix, which could give Tropeano another opportunity before long if he opts to stick around.

As for Kazmir, he returned to the big leagues last month after a nearly half-decade absence from a Major League mound. The now-37-year-old veteran figures to continue to work out of the bullpen as he looks to channel Rich Hill and reestablish himself as a credible big league hurler. He got off to a nice start, holding the Dodgers to a run in four sharp innings during his Giants debut. Los Angeles got some revenge in their next meeting, however, tagging Kazmir for a pair of runs in an inning of work.

JUNE 1: The Giants placed lefty Scott Kazmir on the restricted list yesterday, with manager Gabe Kapler explaining to reporters that the southpaw had returned to his Texas home “to attend to a personal matter” (link via Kerry Crowley of the San Jose Mercury News). The team didn’t provide additional details, nor was any specification for how long Kazmir might be away from the club provided. Lefty Conner Menez was called back to the big league roster to take Kazmir’s spot.

Kazmir, 37, made an improbable return to the Majors in May after nearly five years had elapsed since his most recent outing. He tossed four innings of one-run ball in that impressive return before yielding a pair of runs in one frame in his second — and, to date, only other — appearance with the Giants. Kazmir’s 91.9 mph average fastball velocity in that pair of appearances was right in line with the numbers he posted during his last MLB run in 2014-16.

Hopefully, the left-hander will be able to return to the Giants at some point and continue what has already been a rather remarkable comeback story. For the time being, his absence from the club opens up a 40-man roster spot, as players on the restricted list don’t count against the 40-man.

Yastrzemski’s IL stint doesn’t figure to be a long one. Manager Gabe Kapler told reporters (including Andrew Baggarly of the Athletic) the 30-year-old is expected to miss seven to fourteen days, so it’s possible he’ll return when first eligible on June 12. Yastrzemski is hitting a productive .222/.332/.456 with six home runs over 184 plate appearances this year.

Webb, on the other hand, looks to be in for a more significant absence. Kapler says he’ll be shut down from throwing for a couple weeks (via Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle). This is the second time in as many months Webb is going on the IL with a shoulder strain. While he returned after the minimum ten days last time, the Giants will now take things a bit slower. The 24-year-old Webb has pitched well this season, tossing 49 innings of 3.86 ERA/3.36 SIERA ball.

The Giants haven’t yet decided who’ll start tomorrow night’s game against the Cubs in Webb’s place. Scott Kazmir is a possibility, though (Slusser link). The veteran lefty was placed on the restricted list Monday when he went to his Texas home to address a personal matter, but he’s expected back in the next few days.

Kapler also provided updates on a couple other injured Giants. Starter Aaron Sanchez, who has missed nearly a month with biceps tightness, threw live batting practice this afternoon (via Slusser). First baseman Brandon Belt, out since May 26 with a left oblique strain, has progressed to taking batting practice and could return to the lineup this weekend (Baggarly link).

After appearing in parts of 12 MLB seasons from 2004-16, Kazmir pitched 12 innings with the Dodgers’ Triple-A team in 2017 but it seemed like his career was drawing to a close.  However, the left-hander announced in early 2020 that he was preparing a comeback attempt, and after a stint in independent baseball, Kazmir landed a minor league deal with San Francisco last February.

Giants president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi is no stranger to Kazmir, as the southpaw pitched for the Athletics and Dodgers when Zaidi was working in those clubs’ front offices.  Since being hired as the Giants’ PBO, Zaidi has also developed a knack for finding hidden gems and reviving stalled careers — this roster development can be seen in the standings, as many of those unheralded players have helped the Giants to a 28-17 record.

Kazmir might represent the most impressive revival yet, considering his 37-year-old age, his long absence from the big leagues, and the number of injuries that dotted his career.  It is worth remembering, however, that when Kazmir was in his prime, he was a very effective pitcher.  Kazmir has appeared in three All-Star games, helped the Rays reach the World Series in 2008, and he has a 4.01 ERA over 1689 2/3 innings.

San Francisco has received excellent results from its rotation so far, though Kazmir will now get an opportunity due to injuries to Aaron Sanchez and Logan Webb.  Sanchez’s return may be a while off and Webb’s shoulder strain isn’t thought to be overly serious, but Kazmir will get some time to show what he can do in 2021.

Bishop’s tenure with the Giants could come to a quick end, as the team only claimed him off waivers from the Mariners on May 17.  Bishop has appeared in each of the last three MLB seasons, hitting .133/.188/.156 over 99 plate appearances with Seattle.

The Giants acquired Wade, 27, this winter from the Twins exchange for right-hander Shaun Anderson. While there was some thought that he could break camp as an extra outfielder, he hit just .195/.320/.341 over his first 50 spring plate appearances. As he is already on the 40-man roster, there’s a decent chance that Wade finds his way to the Majors at some point during the season.

For now, this likely means Darin Ruf will make the opening day roster, in part because of the enhanced degree of flexibility he affords manager Gabe Kapler, per Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle (via Twitter). Ruf and Austin Slater look like the backup outfielders on the roster, though both can play first base as well, which will be important early in the season as Brandon Belt hurries to get himself back up to speed after missing part of camp. Kerry Crowley of the Bay Area News Group notes that these moves suggest Belt will be able to get himself ready in time for the opener, however.

Kazmir, 37, was certainly a long shot to make the roster. He last pitched in the Majors for the Dodgers in 2016. He threw 15 innings in independent ball last season with a 4.20 ERA. He followed up that effort with two starts and two relief appearances this spring for the Giants, allowing nine earned runs in 8 2/3 innings.

Yamaguchi, 33, joined the Giants after being released by the Blue Jays. He struggled in his 17 appearances last season, finishing with a 8.06 ERA/5.09 SIERA. He recovered with a nice spring: six innings with a .150 ERA. The Giants will likely attempt to keep him in the organization for depth.

FEB 23: Comeback season is upon us, it seems. The Giants have agreed to a minor league contract with left-hander Scott Kazmir, reports ESPN’s Buster Olney. He’ll be invited to Major League Spring Training. Kazmir will earn a $600K base salary if he makes the Giants, Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle tweets. His deal doesn’t include any opt-out dates.

It’s been nearly five years since Kazmir, now 37, pitched in the Majors with the Dodgers. Current San Francisco president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi was serving as general manager under president Andrew Friedman in Los Angeles at that point, and he was also an assistant GM in the Athletics’ front office in 2013 when Oakland inked Kazmir to a two-year deal.

There’s some obvious history between Zaidi and Kazmir, who at one point was one of the game’s brightest young starters. Kazmir broke out with the Rays in 2005, drawing Rookie of the Year votes that season and going on to make a pair of All-Star teams with Tampa Bay, where he posted a 3.51 ERA and a 25.1 percent strikeout rate from 2005-2008 (back when the league-average strikeout percentage was just 17 percent).

Injuries looked to have derailed Kazmir’s career after a disastrous stint with the Angels. He recorded just five outs in the Majors from 2011-12 and looked to be in danger of washing out entirely before even celebrating his 30th birthday. But Kazmir parlayed a minor league deal with the Indians — not unlike the one he’s now signing with the Giants — into a strong rebound campaign in 2013. He rewarded the A’s with an All-Star season in ’14 and a strong first half in ’15 before being traded to the Astros. Injuries again waylaid Kazmir in the second and third seasons of his three-year pact with the Dodgers, and he hasn’t been on a big league mound since Sept. 2016.

Overall, Kazmir owns a lifetime 4.01 ERA that, remarkably, is an exact match with both his FIP and his SIERA. He’s fanned 22.2 percent of his opponents at the MLB level against a 9.4 percent walk rate. Those numbers come across as that of a third or fourth starter, but Kazmir has shown on multiple occasions that when he’s at his best, he’s a good deal better than that.

Whether he has anything left in the tank remains to be seen, but Olney notes that Kazmir hit 92-93 mph in recent bullpen sessions. He’s never been a particularly hard thrower, so that velocity aligns nicely with Kazmir’s peak years. Even during his All-Star campaigns in 2006, 2008 and 2014, Kazmir averaged just north of 91 mph on his heater.

There’s no harm in the Giants taking a look this spring to see if Kazmir has another rebound in him — even if this comeback seems all the more improbable given his age and his considerably longer layoff from pitching in the Majors. He’ll add another intriguing, high-upside arm to a Giants staff that has rolled the dice on Aaron Sanchez, Alex Wood and Anthony DeSclafani on Major League deals.

Pence said he would “stay open” to the possibility of continuing to play should an opportunity arise, though he acknowledged that retirement might be on the horizon, describing the last “couple of years” as “the bonus rounds” of an outstanding career.  If this is indeed it for Pence, he’ll hang up his glove after 14 years of Major League ball that included four All-Star appearances, a league-wide reputation as a clubhouse leader, and a place in the hearts of all San Francisco fans for his contributions to two World Series championships.

More from around the game…

• Tuesday could be a big day for the Braves, as their game with the Yankees could mark both the return of Ronald Acuna Jr. from the injured list and the big league debut of pitching prospect Ian Anderson.  MLB.com’s Mark Bowman was among those to report the news that Acuna took batting practice on the field tonight, a day after being cleared to take swings.  A wrist injury has sidelined Acuna since August 10, though assuming he is pain-free and feels ready to go come Tuesday, one would imagine the Braves would be eager to get the superstar oufielder back into the lineup as soon as possible.
• As for Anderson’s status, manager Brian Snitker gave a hint to Bowman and other reporters in saying that Tuesday’s starter wouldn’t be impacted by pitching usage in Atlanta’s game tonight against Philadelphia.  Pundits rank Anderson within at least the top 45 prospects in all of baseball, with The Athletic’s Keith Law citing Anderson’s “real No. 2 starter upside” as one of the reasons for a 27th place ranking on Law’s preseason prospects list.  An early display of this potential would be a huge boost to a Braves team that has been short on consistent starting pitching year apart from Max Fried.
• While Yankees fans consistently speculate that the team could or should trade one of their younger players for a more proven talent, George A. King III of the New York Post pours some cold water on the idea of Miguel Andujar, in particular, being dealt.  An injury-plagued 2019 season and a slow start in 2020 has seen Andujar produce only an .118/.141/.118 slash line over his last 71 MLB plate appearances, and King feels the Yankees aren’t going to move such a promising slugger when his trade value is so low.  It remains to be seen where Andujar will fit into New York’s future plans given the emergence of Gio Urshela as the everyday third baseman, but that isn’t a decision the team has to make any time soon.
• Could a return to the majors be in the cards for Scott Kazmir?  The left-hander is scheduled to pitch Tuesday for the Sugar Land Skeeters, and ESPN’s Buster Olney writes that this outing “will probably be his last start” for the independent club.  Kazmir hasn’t pitched in the big leagues since 2016 or in affiliated ball since 2017, though the 12-year MLB veteran was known to be planning another comeback attempt.  It isn’t known how many Major League teams have gotten a first-hand look at Kazmir given how the pandemic has altered normal scouting procedures, but Kazmir would be something of a low-risk flier to see what he could potentially contribute (probably as a reliever) at age 36.

The 36-year-old has already indicated as much. He says he is working into the lower nineties with his fastball and even showed some brief video evidence of his current form. But we won’t really know much about his outlook as a rebound candidate until he has drawn looks from MLB scouts.

It isn’t clear just yet which teams are interested in having a gander at this latest iteration of the twelve-year big-league veteran. Quite a few will no doubt at least consider the possibility.

Kazmir has endured quite a few low points over the years but has had his share of peaks as well. He’s a 4.01 ERA pitcher over 1,689 2/3 career frames. And he was even better than that in his second stretch in the majors. From 2013-16, Kazmir logged 667 2/3 frames of 3.75 ERA ball with 8.3 K/9 and 2.8 BB/9.

Kazmir, who’s open to a minor league contract and a chance to prove himself in Spring Training (as he’d need to be after such a lengthy absence), tells Topkin he’s still in the process of rebuilding his arm strength and fastball velocity. He’s worked out with Driveline this winter and recently topped out at 90.9 mph in a bullpen session. That’s already a far sight higher than the 86 mph at which his heater sat when he first began throwing with an eye toward a big league return. Kazmir’s fastball sat at 91.4 mph in his final season with the Dodgers in 2016, so he’s not quite yet even topping out at his previous fastball average. However, he also has nearly two months before the season would begin.

This, of course, wouldn’t be the first comeback attempt for Kazmir. The former Rays ace saw a sharp decline in 2009-10, pitched just 1 2/3 innings in 2011 and was out of affiliated baseball entirely in 2012 before embarking on a similar journey. That career renaissance proved quite fruitful, as Kazmir parlayed a minor league deal with the Indians into a quality 2013 campaign in which he tossed 158 innings of 4.04 ERA ball with better than a strikeout per inning.

That showing landed him a two-year, $22MM deal with the A’s the following winter, and Kazmir made good on that deal as well, throwing a combined 373 1/3 frames of 3.33 ERA ball with the Athletics and (following a 2015 trade) the Astros. He headed into the 2015-16 offseason as a highly sought-after commodity and landed a three-year, $48MM pact with the Dodgers that proved regrettable for the club when neck and hip injuries wiped out years two and three of that pact.

It’s been a long time since Kazmir was at the top of his game, but he’s nevertheless a three-time All-Star with six career seasons featuring a sub-4.00 ERA and at least 140 innings of work. In total, Kazmir has a 4.01 ERA with 8.6 K/9, 3.6 BB/9, 1.01 HR/9 and a 40.2 percent ground-ball rate in 1689 2/3 innings at the MLB level. Given that the free-agent class has been largely picked over at this point in the winter, a returning Kazmir adds a source of genuine intrigue to the dwindling remnants of this year’s class of open-market starters.

The move is somewhat curious on the surface. After pitching a scoreless inning today in a Grapefruit League game, Kazmir left the mound with what was described at the time as arm fatigue. The left-hander was slated to be the team’s fifth starter, which the Braves will need for at least the first month of the season as Luiz Gohara deals with a left ankle injury. It’s now unclear whom they’ll use in that role behind Julio Teheran, Mike Foltynewicz, Brandon McCarthy and Sean Newcomb. One option is the recently-signed Anibal Sanchez, who’s in camp on a minor league deal. Sanchez is indeed likely to fill the last spot in the Braves’ rotation, per O’Brien.

The 34-year-old Kazmir didn’t last long in Atlanta, which acquired him in an unusual, luxury tax-geared trade with the Dodgers in mid-December. Kazmir’s due $16MM in 2018, the last season of a three-year, $48MM deal he signed with the Dodgers entering 2016. The journeyman has disappointed since signing that deal, as he logged a 4.56 ERA/4.48 FIP in 136 1/3 innings in the first year of the contract before missing all of last season with a hip injury. A lack of durability has long been a problem for Kazmir, a 2002 first-round pick of the Mets who has endured an inconsistent career with several clubs since debuting with Tampa Bay in 2004.

• The Braves immediately designated Gonzalez for assignment after his acquisition, but the 35-year-old had to waive his no-trade clause before the deal could occur. Gonzalez touched on that choice afterward, saying in a statement: “My final decision was not based on playing time, as I had agreed to a limited bench role. It is a way to test the free-agent market and see what opportunities are out there for me so I can make the best decision moving forward for me and my family. Lifting the no-trade clause is the hardest decision I have ever made in my career due to the fact that I loved every single second being a Dodger.”
• The Padres will consider a reunion with Gonzalez if they’re unable to reel in free agent first baseman Eric Hosmer, Bob Nightengale of USA Today suggests (Twitter link). Gonzalez was a franchise player in San Diego from 2006-10, slashing .288/.374/.514 with 161 home runs in 3,425 plate appearances and earning three All-Star nods.
• Shortly after the news broke, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reported the Dodgers would likely trade or release Kemp before he ever plays another game in their uniform (he was previously with LA from 2006-14). The Dodgers will first try to flip Kemp, confirms McCullough, who adds that they “appear willing to offer prospects” to help convince someone to take some of his contract. Kemp, 33, is due $21.5MM in each of the next two seasons. Keith Law of ESPN opines that he wouldn’t even be worth picking up if the Dodgers ate all of that money (subscription required and recommended). Regarding a discussion he had with Kemp, Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman said: “I was very open and honest with him about what the future might hold. It’s just too difficult to say, definitively, at this point.”
• Having completed this trade, it seems the Braves’ heavy lifting for the offseason is mostly over, as David O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution details. They improved their defense by getting rid of Kemp, thus freeing up a spot in the outfield for elite prospect Ronald Acuna (he’ll be in the majors early in 2018, whether it’s Opening Day or a bit later); added a veteran starter in McCarthy (possibly two if Kazmir recovers from a hip injury); and landed a backup infielder they like in Culberson. While Anthopoulos said the Braves could still seek a third baseman and relief help, he noted that those areas are not priorities, O’Brien writes.
• Meanwhile, Nightengale, Jeff Sullivan of FanGraphs and Bill Shaikin of the LA Times agree that this trade will help set up an action-packed offseason in a year. Now that the Dodgers are unlikely to exceed the $197MM luxury tax threshold in 2018, they can be more aggressive in trying to reel in certain members of a star-studded class of free agents next winter. One of their own standouts, left-hander Clayton Kershaw, could be a prominent part of that group.

There’s a ton to unpack here, but the biggest motivator of the trade appears to be money, and more specifically luxury tax implications for the Dodgers. Rosenthal notes in another tweet that the trade is “effectively cash-neutral overall,” but adds that the swap will put the Dodgers below the $197MM luxury tax threshold for the 2018 season. That will allow the Dodgers to reset the escalating luxury tax penalties, which seems to have been a significant objective for the club this offseason. The money owed to Kemp is spread out across the 2018-2019 seasons, while Gonzalez, Kazmir and McCarthy all have just one year remaining on their contracts.

Rosenthal offers further clarification yet, as he points out that the Dodgers have paid the luxury tax for five consecutive seasons. Their penalty for 2017 was over $30MM, but if they keep their payroll below $197MM, their penalty will drop from 50% on the overage to 20% the next time they exceed the luxury tax threshold.

Joel Sherman reports in his own tweet that the Braves are planning to release Gonzalez, but can’t do so until Monday since MLB teams can’t release players on weekends during the offseason. Gonzalez actually had to waive his no-trade clause in order to make this trade possible, and Bob Nightengale of USA Today Sports reports that he did so mainly because the Dodgers told him he’d be buried on the bench and receive limited at-bats.

[RELATED: Updated Dodgers Depth Chart; Updated Braves Depth Chart]

As for the Braves, the $4.5MM they’ll get in the deal will even out the overall dollars swapped in the trade (hat tip to Jon Heyman of FanRag Sports). GM Alex Anthopoulos says that McCarthy satisfies the team’s “desire to add a veteran starter,” while Culberson fills their need for a bench player (via Mark Bowman of MLB.com). Kazmir has some upside as a rotation piece too.

Not insignificant is the fact that the Dodgers have opened up multiple spots on their 40-man roster, including one that was already earmarked for Tom Koehler, with whom the Dodgers have recently agreed to a one-year deal.

Kemp, 33, was a sixth-round selection of the Dodgers back in 2003. He made his major league debut in 2007, and went on to have some great seasons for Los Angeles, including a 2011 campaign in which he finished as the runner-up in the MVP voting. Later that year, the club signed the outfielder to an eight-year, $160MM extension. Not long after that, his performance began to decline; Kemp has only topped 1 WAR once in the past four seasons as his contract has been tossed between the Padres, Braves and Dodgers. For the 2017 season, Kemp hit .276/.318/.463, making him a roughly average major league hitter (100 wRC+). However, his poor defense in the outfield dropped his overall value to -0.5 fWAR.

Gonzalez, now 35 years of age, went to the Marlins with the number one overall pick in the 2000 draft. His breakout season came with the Padres in 2006; that year began a streak of ten consecutive seasons wherein the left-handed-hitting first baseman posted at least 2.9 fWAR. Across those years, he posted a .292/.366/.501 slash line and mashed 283 homers. This past season, however, Gonzalez battled injuries throughout the year and didn’t hit well when healthy; he amassed only 252 plate appearances across 71 games with the Dodgers and managed a career-worst .355 slugging percentage. All told, Gonzalez was valued at 1.1 wins below replacement level.

Kazmir’s story is a roller coaster of sorts; he was a great pitcher during his early years with the then-Devil Rays, including a 2007 season in which he posted a 3.48 ERA with 239 strikeouts across 206 2/3 innings. However, Kazmir began to struggle with injuries and ineffectiveness in 2009, and though he experienced a resurgence in July that prompted a trade to the Angels, his ERA during the 2009 postseason was an ugly 7.59. Those struggles continued into the 2010 season, and by 2011 Kazmir was pitching for the Angels’ Triple-A affiliate and was cut before June was over. After spending 2012 out of MLB entirely, the Indians took a chance on him in 2013, and he rewarded them with a 4.04 ERA (and 3.51 FIP) campaign that earned him the Comeback Player of the Year Award. He signed a two-year deal with the Athletics the following offseason, and seemed to be “back.” The Dodgers signed Kazmir to a three-year, $48MM deal, but the injury bug struck once again, marring his 2016 performance and keeping him off the field entirely in 2017.

The 34-year-old McCarthy has a career 4.15 ERA across 1,145 big league innings with the White Sox, Rangers, Athletics, Diamondbacks, Yankees and Dodgers. He’s generally provided value while on the field, but has only topped 140 innings twice in his twelve-year career. Part of that can be attributed to injuries, including a 2015 Tommy John surgery when he famously noted on Twitter that “31 years is a lot to ask for from a ligament.” During the past two seasons, he’s put up a 4.27 ERA while striking out 116 batters in 132 2/3 innings.

Based on his age and team control, the soon-to-be 29-year-old Culberson is the one player in this deal who looks capable of being a long-term piece. The Georgia native won’t even be eligible for arbitration until next winter, meaning the Braves could control him for the next four seasons. The righty-hitting Culberson hasn’t found much big league success since debuting in 2012, though, having hit just .229/.269/.321 in 443 PAs with three NL West clubs – the Giants, Rockies and Dodgers. Culberson racked up a mere 83 trips to the plate in two seasons with the Dodgers, but he did swat a couple dramatic homers during his LA tenure.

Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.