Coming off a season in which he was plagued by injury, 2017 has been much of the same for Scott Kazmir. He did not break camp with the Los Angeles Dodgers and has largely remained at Camelback Ranch thus far.
Kazmir recently suffered a bit of a setback while pitching in an extended Spring Training game, as all-too-familiar hip tightness forced him to an early exit. The southpaw went on to throw a bullpen session in front of Dodgers pitching coach Rick Honeycutt while the team was in Arizona, and twice threw at Dodger Stadium over the weekend.
“He’s still kind of in the mechanical stage,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said after Kazmir’s second bullpen at Chavez Ravine. “The arm, the shoulder, he feels good. But there are still some things in his mechanics and delivery that he’s trying to clean up.
Hip trouble last season and during Spring Training this year have thrown Kazmir’s ability to repeat his delivery by the wayside. Lack of velocity on his fastball has also been an issue. Despite the lingering trouble, it’s possible the 33-year-old could make a return in the not too distant future.
“Where he’s at right now, if something clicks it could be sooner than later because the arm strength is still there,” Roberts explained. “He’s still still built up to 60 or 75 pitches but the consistency of the delivery is something we’re still trying to monitor.”
Considering their depth in the starting rotation, the Dodgers certainly will not rush Kazmir’s recovery along. The team is utilizing a six-man rotation through this week’s games, and will then decide on who to remove.
That may become all the more difficult if and when Rich Hill comes off the disabled list.
