After being acquired by the Oakland Athletics last July, Jeff Samardzija is once again on the move. Oakland has reportedly dealt the right-hander to the Chicago White Sox. The Athletics announced the move on Tuesday:
Samardzija talked about making his return to Chicago, according to the White Sox’s official Twitter feed:
The Samardzija acquisition comes on the heels of the White Sox signing free-agent closer David Robertson, according to Bob Nightengale of USA Today.
Susan Slusser of The San Francisco Chronicle was the first to report a potential deal involving Samardzija, though the particulars weren’t known at the time:
The A’s acquired Samardzija from the Chicago Cubs in the hopes he would push them over the hump in October. However, the team—specifically, the offense—fell apart in the second half due to natural regression and some injuries, preventing the right-hander from getting a playoff start.
Oakland general manager Billy Beane discussed the importance of the acquisitions of Samardzija and Jason Hammel, the latter also part of the Chicago deal, after the Kansas City Royals defeated Oakland in the Wild Card Game, via ESPN.com:
When we traded for Samardzija and Hammel, I think one of the first questions was, ‘Why would you trade for two pitchers, you’re first in the league in ERA?’ We weren’t going to stay there. We knew it. Our job is to try and correct things before they become a problem, and some of the problems that we had we could see coming.
Despite Oakland falling short of its ultimate goal, Samardzija was terrific after the trade. He made 16 starts and posted a 3.14 ERA with 99 strikeouts, 92 hits allowed, 12 walks and a 0.931 WHIP in 111.2 innings.
The 29-year-old is entering his final year of arbitration after making $5.3 million last season. According to MLBTradeRumors.com arbitration projections, Samardzija figures to be looking at a salary in the $9.5 million range next year before hitting free agency in the winter.
Since transitioning to a starting role in 2012, Samardzija has evolved into one of the best pitchers in baseball. He’s averaged at least 8.3 strikeouts per nine innings over the last three years and has made 94 starts during that span.
Even with one year of control left, Samardzija has true impact potential at the top of the White Sox’s rotation and will cost less in salary than any of the notable free agents available this winter. He can be a Game 1 playoff starter for most teams in the league, which is virtually impossible to find at his salary in 2015.
The White Sox had a rough season in 2014, due in large part to their rotation. Samardzija immediately pairs with ace Chris Sale to give them a formidable 1-2 punch at the front of the rotation, which will give them more stability than they had last season. Along with the newly signed Robertson, it’s clear Chicago wants to win now and isn’t afraid to acquire the talent required to get the job done.
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