Kazmir on A's and trade rumors: 'I would love to stay here'
The Oakland Athletics followed up a five-game winning streak by allowing themselves to get swept by the visiting Kansas City Royals this past weekend, bumping them back down to 10 games under .500 at 34-44 entering play Monday.
Their continued inconsistency has fueled trade speculation for their veteran players, among them free-agent-to-be Scott Kazmir.
Despite the trade buzz, which has attracted scouts to several of Kazmir's recent starts, the left-hander told John Hickey of Inside Bay Area over the weekend that he doesn't want to go anywhere: "I'm aware of the scouts. But you can put that out of your mind when you are on the mound. You can't think about it and make pitches at the same time. I would love to stay here. This is a group of guys I love being around. When you go up and down the team, the organizational staff, there's a lot to like. I'd like to stay here.''
The A's signed Kazmir to a low-risk two-year deal prior to the 2014 season, and he responded by going 15-9 with a 3.55 ERA. So far in 2015, he's pitching even better peripherally (with a 2.79 ERA), despite having a 4-5 won/loss record.
With Kazmir's name being tied to teams interested in a starting pitching boost (such as the Houston Astros), the A's boast a strong and efficient starting staff, even with their poor standing in the division. To that end, Kazmir told Hickey that he isn't cpnvinced the A's can't still turn things around: "I think before the break we need to close the gap a little bit more, but we're definitely within range, especially the way we're playing.''
The next couple of weeks will be big in determining the A's status in 2015 - and, potentially, Kazmir's place of employment.
