[Back-to-back Hammel/Samardzija rumor posts? I feel like it’s June all over again!]
It really might happen. Jeff Samardzija may come back to Chicago for the 2015 season.
We know that the A’s are very likely to deal Samardzija this offseason, and it looks like it could be heading toward a conclusion:
The Chicago #Whitesox are looming as the #frontrunner to acquire #Athletics ace Jeff Samardzija after the clubs engaged in serious talks
— Bob Nightengale (@BNightengale) December 8, 2014
This isn’t the first time these teams have been connected with respect to Samardzija this offseason. It still seems extremely unlikely that Samardzija will sign an extension before reaching free agency, but if there’s a team he might consider it for, it could be the White Sox. It’ll be very interesting to see how this shakes out.
What I find particularly interesting about the talks apparently kicking up in this way is the Jon Lester connection. Would the A’s be willing to deal Samardzija until/unless they had a good sense where Lester was going, and that it wouldn’t impact their market for Samardzija? For example, if the A’s thought there was a chance that Lester was not going to the Red Sox, might they not hold back Samardzija for a little while to see if the Red Sox then want to take a shot at getting Samardzija (as they’ve been rumored to want to do)?
Then again, because the Red Sox are in the market for more than one starter, perhaps they’ve already made their offer level known to the A’s, and they prefer what they can do with the White Sox. The A’s have been wanting a middle infielder in a Samardzija deal, and maybe there’s not a great fit there with the Red Sox like there is with the White Sox (Alexei Ramirez, for example).
All in all, I can’t help but wonder if word is starting to trickle around the game with respect to certain pitchers about who’s likely to do what. And teams are proceeding accordingly.