Shortly after the Chicago White Sox officially acquired starting pitcher Jeff Samardzija in a trade, the team's general manager, Rick Hahn, spoke to reporters about the transaction. The other Sox team made an offer to starter who isn't named Jon Lester.
Samardzija was sent to the White Sox in a six-player trade with the Oakland Athletics. Chicago was looking for another right-handed starter to accompany a rotation full of lefties and Hahn said the 29-year-old Samardzija was "a target of ours for some time now." The GM apparently isn't stopping there either and is confident the team will be successful in the coming years.
"We're going to make every effort in the coming weeks and months to try to make this a long-term relationship," Hahn told reporters on Tuesday, via Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times.
"Jeff is one of the elite right-handed starting pitchers in baseball, and we believe his addition to our roster gives us the potential for a formidable starting rotation. His competitiveness fits well in our clubhouse, on the mound and in our city," he added in this MLB.com article.
Chris Sale, the lefty ace of the White Sox starting rotation, is only 25 years old and is locked up through the 2019 season. If Chicago can sign Samardzija to an extension and finally give him some run support, the team would have one of the better 1-2 punches at the top of the starting rotation in the entire league. Samardzija has been a starter for just three seasons, during which he was with the Cubs (who ranked at the bottom of the league in offense) and the Athletics (who witnessed a drastic decline in offensive production during the second half of 2014).
Also in the American League, the Boston Red Sox are continuing their free agency spree and have offered starter Justin Masterson a multi-year contract, according to Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe. The right-hander was drafted by the Red Sox in the 2006 amateur draft and pitched only 67 games (15 starts) before he was traded to the Cleveland Indians in a deal that landed them catcher Victor Martinez.
Masterson had two good seasons with Cleveland in 2011 and 2013, but struggled every other year. His worst season actually came in 2014 when he logged a 7-9 record with a 5.88 ERA and 1.63 WHIP in 28 appearances (25 starts) with the Indians and St. Louis Cardinals. But the Red Sox will have some competition because the Texas Rangers have made him an offer as well and a number of other teams remain interested.
