Jeff Samardzija is among this year's talented class of free agent starting pitchers. The right-hander will be overshadowed by David Price, Zack Greinke, Johnny Cueto and Jordan Zimmermann, but rumors suggest he's garnering early interest.
Although Samardzija had his worst MLB season in 2015, he still remains an attractive target because of his durability and aggressive style of pitching. The 30-year-old finished 11-13 with a 4.96 ERA in 32 starts (214 innings) in his only season with the Chicago White Sox.
Chicago offered Samardzija a qualifying offer and he's expected to decline it. If he signs with another team, that club will have to surrender their 2016 first-round draft pick to the White Sox. That hasn't dissuaded potential suitors.
"Major league sources say the Yankees have interest, and the Cubs plan to explore what it would take to bring Samardzija back to his original organization," writes Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times. "The Giants have long been fans of Samardzija, and the Dodgers also could be a fit."
The White Sox are also hoping to re-sign Samardzija. General manager Rick Hahn says the right-hander will have a "robust market."
Each of the aforementioned clubs is looking for starting pitching depth, most notably the Cubs and Yankees. However, New York is not expected to be in the hunt for a top-tier starter such as Price or Greinke, whereas the other three clubs expect to be at the forefront of that race.
However, Samardzija's projected value could still affect the offseason plans for these MLB teams.
"He could command a four- or five-year deal (at between $15 million and $20 million per year)," Wittenmyer added.
A number of MLB evaluators provided ESPN's Buster Olney with reasons as to why Samardzija is a "fixable" pitcher and perhaps still a commodity in a crowded free agent market.
"His velocity has remained consistent; evaluators see no outward signs that he's hurt; he pitched in front of one of the worst defenses in baseball; he did not fare well in the White Sox's bandbox of a home ballpark; and he seemingly struggled with his mechanics all year."
This perfect storm of struggles contributed to Samardzija allowing the most hits, total bases and earned runs of any pitcher in the MLB. With that being said, his talent, size and durability should still have him in line for a nice payday.
We'll just have to wait and see who takes the risk and signs him.
