FanPost

Trade Opportunity: Scott Kazmir

The Pirates have been a bit more aggressive in the early offseason than expected. Even with Burnett in hand there’s still a need for another SP and I wonder if Pittsburgh will try to acquire that arm via trade. It’s in that vein that I’d like to propose the following:

To Pittsburgh: Scott Kazmir

To Oakland: Nick Kingham, Barrett Barnes, Clay Holmes and Jose Tabata

Fangraph’s Steamer projection predicts Scott Kazmir to throw 189 innings and produce 2.4 fWAR in 2015. He is heading into his age-31 season and has one year left on his contract that will pay him $11.5 million if traded. (He would count $13.5 million for Luxury Tax purposes due to the $4 million signing bonus he received last season but that shouldn’t be a matter of concern due to the Pirates’ projected budget.) Should Kazmir pitch to his projected performance or better it is likely that Pittsburgh would be able to offer and see him reject a Qualifying Offer just as Ervin Santana did with the Braves this offseason.

As a bonus the Pirates get to clear $4 million in 2015 payroll and another $4.75 million in future monies by dealing Tabata. This turns Kazmir into a $7.5 million SP worth ~$7.5 million in projected surplus 2015 value.

I’m an A’s fan and I’m proposing this deal. I consider Kingham as the ideal centerpiece while Barnes and Holmes are upside lottery tickets worth pursuing. Tabata is a guy you waived twice last season and would probably trade for a bag of baseballs if the other team would pick up the contract. Oakland would be offering a lot more than a bag of baseballs in this deal and I think the Athletics need to start trading their short term assets for young talent. Would this be a deal you’d like to see the Pirates pursue?

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