Dodgers News: Kazmir Not Worried About Lefty-Heavy Rotation

When the Dodgers signed Scott Kazmir, the reaction was mostly positive. Mostly because the team acquired a started that posted an ERA just above 3.00 in the American League for a reasonable cost.

But not everything about the signing was seen as a positive.

The fact that Kazmir is left-handed raised some eyebrows. Usually it wouldn’t matter which hand a pitcher throws with, but the Dodgers were already loaded with left-handers — namely Clayton Kershaw, Brett Anderson, Alex Wood, and Hyun-Jin Ryu. The NL West has potent right-handed hitters like Paul Goldschmidt and Buster Posey, and so it was believed that the Dodgers’ rotation might not have enough balance to be dominant.

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Kazmir isn’t worried though.

Scott Kazmir on LHP-heavy staff: “I’m biased, but I love it, with all the lefties. I really don’t think it matters what hand you throw with”

— Eric Stephen (@truebluela) January 5, 2016

To be honest, I wouldn’t be either. Sure, the Dodgers may have trouble against teams that feature potent right-handed hitters, but they’ll also fare extremely well against clubs whose best hitters are left-handed. And with the injury issues the team has had lately, it’s always nice to have rotational depth regardless of which hand the pitchers use, and the team has that. Not to mention that the lefties they do have aren’t exactly average. Kershaw is arguably the best pitcher in baseball, Kazmir is a solid number two starter, and Ryu and Anderson are terrific back of the rotation options.

The point is, quality and depth is more important than right and left-handed balance, in my opinion.