Pittsburgh Pirates Trade Rumors – Day 11 – Jeff Samardzija

Welcome to Rum Bunter’s 12 Days of Trademas! On each day between now and the July 31st non-waiver trade deadline, we will profile a player or two who may be a potential trade target for the Pittsburgh Pirates. We will highlight both the cases for and against that player in order to give you the full scope of what acquiring that player might entail.

On this the 11th day of our Pittsburgh Pirates 12 Days of Trademas, we are checking in on a familiar face. Jeff Samardzija of the Chicago White Sox is in our spotlight today. After finding himself reeled in to the south side of Chi-town, Samardzija and the White Sox find themselves teetering on the edge of playoff contention. So are the White Sox sellers or buyers. If so, what might be the price tag to bring Samardzija back to the NL Central? Before we dig in, give a listen to Rum Bunter Radio’s podcast from last night discussing our previous entry spotlighting James Shields and Tyson Ross:

As we said at the top, the pale hose are on the brink of contention, having won their last six games (as of this writing) to pull within 3.5 games of an AL Wild Card berth. This sudden rash of competence has caused many to change their thinking towards Chicago’s plans.

At 30 years old, Samardzija has put together a career ERA of 3.87 en route to 44 career wins. Here are his career numbers:

So regardless of the White Sox’s plans, the question is this – Can this former nemesis fit in with the current Pittsburgh Pirates? What can he bring to shore up a final push to finally win the National League Central?

The case for Samardzija

At first blush, Samardzija’s career 3.84 ERA is underwhelming, but we should look a little closer at recent years. Playing on frequently-bad Chicago Cubs teams, Samardzija played the role of de facto ace. There are a few bloated ERAs here and there – 4.34 in 2013 stands out – Yet after joining the rotation full time in 2012, Samardzija has been a very respectable starter. This is a guy with 200+ strikeout ability. An all-star last year, Samardzija showed very good aplomb in switching leagues last year and acquitted himself well in Oakland, even though the results weren’t what anyone was hoping for.

As our friend Jesse Spector wrote earlier this month in The Sporting News, Samardzija fits the profile of a pitcher the Pirates should aim for rather than the big names such as Cole Hamels. Part of that may be his comfort in PNC Park. From Spector’s piece:

"In his career, Samardzija has had success on the north shore of the Allegheny River, posting a 1.26 ERA in 50 innings over six starts and five relief appearances — with 28 of those innings against the playoff-caliber Pirates lineups since 2013, and indeed he has not allowed a home run there. Putting Samardzija in a rotation with Cole, A.J. Burnett and Francisco Liriano makes for an imposing October quartet. It might not be Cole and Cole, but putting the Shark in front of the Shark Tank bullpen works pretty darn well, too."

Samardzija comes complete with great familiarity against his former NL Central foes. He is a free agent after this season, on a 1-year/$9.8 million deal, putting the Pirates on the hook for roughly 3-4 million before any cash considerations. While that is nothing to sneeze at, it’s certainly manageable for the club.

He has excellent swinging strike capability (10.5% Swinging-strike for his career) and has a solid if not spectacular SO/W ratio for his career (2.79). Samardzija is an innings eater who has the rare ability to get stronger as he goes deep into games, as the table below illustrates.

The case against Samardzija

As we just stated, Samardzija is a rental. That fact coupled with some of the young talent that the White Sox have in Jose Abreu and Chris Sale may result in the White Sox being closer than they think they are, driving up the price tag in the process. One would assume that major-league ready players would have to be included as a result. As we stated in our trade chips piece, this may not be a bad thing, as swapping Samardzija for Jeff Locke and window dressing would probably be welcomed by many fans. Also, if the White Sox are truly not selling this year, that too would drive the price up.

On-the-field there is really nothing not to like about Samardzija. He has managed to stay healthy throughout his career and owes many of his less-then-desirable peripherals to the team he spent the majority of his career with.

Conclusion

Jeff Samardzija would be a great fit for the Pittsburgh Pirates. His familiarity with the NL Central – specifically NL Central ballparks – provides a huge lift to his value. A clean injury history, a reasonable contract, and overall good – but not great – performance makes him a very attractive piece for a club who doesn’t necessarily need a world-class starting pitcher.

What do you think? Let us know on twitter! You can tweet us here @rumbunter or use the #12DaysOfTrademas hashtag! You can also air your grievances in the comments section below or on our facebook page. Make sure to stay tuned tomorrow for the FINAL day of Trademas!

Next: The Top Five trade chips in the Pirates organization