truebluefan

In the eyes of Rays manager Joe Maddon, the only reason to activate All-Star pitcher Scott Kazmir from the disabled list with 12 games left in the season would be to give the 22-year-old a chance to gain confidence heading into the offseason.

Kazmir, sidelined since Aug. 22 with a sore shoulder, had his first throwing session in 10 days, making 40 pitches off flat ground before Monday's game. Following the Devil Rays' 4-1 loss to Baltimore, the team announced it was shutting down Kazmir for the remainder of the season.

"The only reason I did want him to pitch would be to make sure he felt good going into next season," Maddon said. "When you get stuck in ambiguities, it's never comfortable. So I really thought it was wise to just put an end to the madness and let's just do one thing or the other. The big thing is that he feels good about himself going into the offseason and he does, so I was good with that."

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