The Boston Red Sox hired Carl Willis as their new pitching coach over the weekend to help retool the ailing starting rotation. However, Willis can't work magic, so there's still a great possibility the club looks to trade for a pitcher at the deadline. Do the Oakland Athletics have their potential target?
Scott Kazmir is off to a fast start in 2015 after logging his first All-Star campaign last season since 2008. The left-hander is 2-1 with a 2.75 ERA, 1.017 WHIP and 40 strikeouts in six starts (39 1/3 innings) and has emerged as a likely trade candidate given his current situation.
As a member of the Oakland A's, one is never a safe bet to remain with the team. General manager Billy Beane is always looking to get value for his top players, especially because the team can't afford top players given their payroll situation, as we saw this offseason when he traded Josh Donaldson, Jeff Samardzija and Brandon Moss. Kazmir will be a free agent after the season and the A's probably won't be able to afford to keep him. Rumors suggest he could be moved at some point.
"'Tick, tick, tick,' one AL GM said in response to whether he thinks Kazmir might be traded before the deadline," writes Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe. "'Sure. If Oakland can't hang in, Billy [Beane] will flip him for prospects. He's actually an interesting name. All you hear about is [David] Price, [Jordan] Zimmermann, [Johnny] Cueto, but that's a pretty good name right there.' He could be a Red Sox target."
Willis has been tasked with a difficult assignment. Boston's starters rank 29th in the MLB in ERA (5.64), which ultimately resulted in the dismissal of former pitching coach Juan Nieves. However, it was perhaps out of Nieves' hands because he had a limited amount of time to get through to the brand new rotation - none of the incumbent starters except Buchholz have been with Boston for over three months.
Additionally, it wasn't Nieves' problem general manager Ben Cherington low-balled Jon Lester with a four-year, $70 million offer prior to the 2014 season and then traded him to Oakland last year. Or the fact that he also dealt Jake Peavy and John Lackey - two veterans that could have helped guide this current cast of youngsters.
So with Willis in the same boat as Nieves, it's highly unlikely Clay Buchholz, Rick Porcello, Wade Miley, Joe Kelly and Justin Masterson manage to turn things around quickly and drastically within a month or two.
The Red Sox could use another left-hander at a cheap price. The Philadelphia Phillies are asking for too much in return for Cole Hamels because he's under contract through the 2018 season, but that won't be the case with Kazmir. Although he'll be a rental, he can provide a boost for the Red Sox, who are likely to remain in the playoff race because the AL East has no clear-cut favorite so far this season.
And who knows, maybe if the Red Sox trade for Kazmir they can coax him to remain in Boston with a contract extension. Nonetheless, if the club's rotation doesn't witness a significant improvement before the trade deadline, look for the Red Sox to make a move for Kazmir if he's made available.
