UPDATE (Dec. 6, 1:35 p.m. PT): After losing out on Zack Greinke, the Los Angeles Dodgers reportedly were interested in Jeff Samardzjia, who agreed to sign with the San Francisco Giants on Saturday.
Los Angeles has since been said to have interest in Johnny Cueto, Hisashi Iwakuma, Scott Kazmir and others.
What may influence the Dodgers’ decision-making is whether or not they’d lose a draft pick by signing a pitcher who was extended and declined a qualifying offer.
Kazmir wouldn’t cost the Dodgers a pick, though his list of suitors includes the World Series champion Kansas City Royals, according to ESPN’s Buster Olney:
Kansas City pursuing left-hander Scott Kazmir, who is also on the radar of the L.A. Dodgers.
— Buster Olney (@Buster_ESPN) December 6, 2015
UPDATE (Dec. 4, 5:15 p.m. PT): Zack Greinke reportedly agreed to a six-year contract with the Arizona Diamondbacks.
Zack Greinke continues to hold the free agent market hostage as he mulls over re-signing with the Los Angeles Dodgers or joining the rival San Francisco Giants.
Greinke reportedly is seeking a contract in which he’ll earn a greater average annual value than what David Price received in his seven-year, $217 million contract with the Boston Red Sox.
The Dodgers reportedly are willing to include a sixth year on Greinke’s contract, but the it’s the Giants who may meet his annual average wish.
As much as the Dodgers may have re-signing Greinke as their top priority this offseason, indications of who their secondary options are have begun to surface.
On the heels of it being previously reported Los Angeles may turn to Johnny Cueto and Jeff Samardzija if Greinke signs elsewhere, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports added Hisashi Iwakuma and Scott Kazmir to that list:
Sources: #Dodgers reaching out today to a number of fallback starters (Cueto, Samardzija, Kazmir) in the event they fail to land Greinke.
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) December 4, 2015
Hisashi Iwaukuma also is on list of potential alternatives for #Dodgers, sources say – potentially high on that list. Waiting on Greinke.
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) December 4, 2015
Iwakuma was 9-5 with a 3.54 ERA, 107 ERA+, 3.74 FIP and 1.06 WHIP in 20 starts with the Seattle Mariners last season. The Japanese native spent six weeks on the disabled list due to a strained lat muscle suffered April 25.
Iwakuma threw the fifth no-hitter in Mariners history on Aug. 12. He declined the one-year, $15.8 million qualifying offer from Seattle to become a free agent.
His signing would require the Dodgers to forfeit their first pick in the 2016 MLB Draft (currently No. 25 overall). In four Major League seasons, the 34-year-old Iwakuma is 47-25 with a 3.17 ERA and 1.08 WHIP.
As for Kazmir, he wasn’t eligible to be extended a qualifying offer by virtue of being traded during the season. The left-hander was a combined 7-11 with a 3.10 ERA, 3.98 FIP and 1.21 WHIP with the Oakland Athletics and Houston Astros.
After posting a 2.38 ERA, 3.16 FIP, 1.09 WHIP and 8.3 strikeouts per nine innings with Oakland, his ERA, FIP and WHIP increased to 4.17, 5.19 and 1.39, respectively, in 13 starts for the Astros. Moreover, Kazmir’s strikeout per nine innings dropped to 6.6 with Houston.
