NEWSLETTER
Speaking today (just moments ago, actually) with Waddle and Silvy on ESPN 1000, Chicago Cubs GM Jed Hoyer addressed the constant drumbeat of Jeff Samardzija trade rumors, and declined to say that it’s a given that he’ll be traded.
That seems like the obvious thing to say – and it’s technically true – but Hoyer followed up with a discussion of extension conversations with Samardzija. Hoyer said that the two sides have been in communication about an extension going back as far as two years, and those conversations are ongoing. Hoyer called it a “pretty consistent dialogue.”
He didn’t get into specifics, and I wouldn’t read too much into this (because, as always, he emphasized that they’re keeping things in-house). But it’s interesting to hear the GM openly say that the Cubs and Samardzija’s representatives are in contact regularly about the possibility of marrying up on a long-term deal.
I wouldn’t say that it’s likely that a deal gets done – Samardzija has been very candid about his reservations about signing on long-term, and there is also obviously a gap in the dollars – but, hey, you never know. A reasonable extension is the best outcome here, even if it isn’t the most likely one.
All in all, though, I’d still look for a deluge of Samardzija trade rumors come June and July.
