It is official! The Chicago White Sox have landed a Chicago favorite, pitcher Jeff Samardzija. The final trade was as following:
Chicago White Sox get:
Jeff Samardzija
Oakland Athletics get:
The addition of Samardzija to the White Sox puts their rotation in a really nice spot. They have Chris Sale as their ace, then you can pencil in Samardzija at the two spot followed by lefty Jose Quintana. That becomes a very respectable top end of the rotation for the Sox. The rest of the rotation seems unsure still for Chicago, they still have in house options like John Danks, but it appears that they could add more players via trade or free agency.
Samardzija in his age 29 season pitched for the Chicago Cubs and the Oakland Athletics and combined for a 7-13 record with a 2.99 ERA. In his career he owns a 36-48 record with a 3.85 ERA, although his career stats might not jump out at you, keep in mind that he pitched most of his career with the Cubs, who had numerous losing seasons. Plus, the potential Samardzija has shown is worth giving a shot for the White Sox.
In addition to Samardzija, the White Sox signed free agent closer and former Yankee, David Robertson. Robertson signed a 4 year $40 million contract. After taking over the closer role in New York when Mariano Rivera retired, Robertson showed a lot of composure and did a fine job with the Yankees. Robertson saved 39 in 44 opportunities last season with a 3.08 ERA. In 2011 he had his best season in which he made the all star team and finished the year 4-0 with a 1.08 ERA being a set up pitcher.
These moves will certainly help the White Sox who only won 73 games in 2014. With players like Jose Abreu, Adam Eaton, Alexi Ramirez, and newly added first baseman Adam Laroche, the lineup has plenty of potential on paper. Now the same can apply to the pitching, having another strong pitcher like Samardzija and a shut down closer like Robertson just makes Robin Ventura‘s job easier.
Latest rumors were that the White Sox are not done adding players this off-season, so this team could be a force for next season.
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