Let’s check in on a trio of teams from the game’s West divisions…
- Giants right-hander Jeff Samardzija looks like a potential trade candidate for the club, considering they’re unlikely to contend in 2020 and he’s in the final year of his contract. Samardzija told John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle that he hopes to remain with the Giants, though. “The way I look at it, you look to put yourself and the team in the best situation going forward,” he said. “Obviously, the best situation for us going forward would be in the playoff hunt, add talent at the (deadline) and make a run for it in the fall. That’s our No. 1 goal.” Shark added that he has “a lot of respect for this organization and what they’ve done for me, and I’ll give them everything I can as long as I’m here in their jersey.” Signed to a five-year, $90MM contract before the 2016 season, Samarzidja’s production has been up and down as a Giant. He prevented runs at a very good clip last year (3.52 ERA over 181 1/3 innings), but he also posted a career-worst 91.9 mph average fastball velocity and a below-average 4.59 FIP.
- Diamondbacks corner infielder Jake Lamb hasn’t enjoyed a strong season since 2017, but the shoulder and quad injuries he dealt with from 2018-19 likely contributed to his woes. Lamb’s not giving himself a pass for his recent struggles, telling Zach Buchanan of The Athletic (subscription link): “The shoulder wasn’t why I was so bad last year. My swing was not good. I was steep, I was late.” However, Lamb admitted his shoulder tightness was on his mind in the past, and that’s no longer the case. He now may be in position to bounce back after turning in a .208/.315/.350 line in a combined 464 plate appearances during the previous two years. The Diamondbacks believe that’s the case, as Buchanan details; otherwise, they wouldn’t have tendered him for $5.515MM over the winter.
- Astros righty Brad Peacock has been battling neck problems, but he believes he’ll be ready for the beginning of the season, Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle relays. Peacock started throwing off flat ground this week, should move to the mound in early March and then anticipates appearing in “three or four” Grapefruit League games. Most of Peacock’s work last year came from the Astros’ rotation, but they’re set to use him out of their bullpen this season. The swingman did well in a full-time relief role back in 2018.
Sounding like a zoo out here
Time to change our name to mlbtradezoomors.com.
Sharks, lambs and peacocks….oh my!
I have Bartolo on the line, he’s asking if he can join the party as Dumbo…
That parking spot is reserved for Carlos Correa.
Seems wrong referring to Samardzija as the shark these days. Maybe the mermaid? I don’t see Cueto or Samardzija being moved now unless they are basically given away with tons of salary eaten by the Giants. Makes more sense for the Giants to let them pitch and hope they can rebuild some type of value.
As a RS fan Samardzija is better than Eovaldi
Is that, like, a ….. sarcasm type thing, or………? I only ask because neither has thrown well with any consistency and Eovaldi was lights out in the postseason for you guys.
I get it, you didn’t really watch Shark last year. Was the most consistent pitcher the Giants had last year. Really learned to control his off-speed pitches last year, looks good so far this year. So I don’t know what you’re talking about.
“Shark” is just a guy. A back of the rotation starter making money closer to a top of the rotation type. He could be moved but the return would be minimal. If he can build on what improvement he did make last year maybe the Giants could get a little something or salary relief worth moving him for. But a trade at this moment isn’t likely to gain the Giants much
TOR Starters are making 30 plus now so Samardzija is cheap compared to that
Red Eye exactly. Shark figured some things out last years. His 4 seamer spin rates are top 3% in the league, which means when he started throwing his 4 seam alot more 2nd half of last year it shouldn’t surprise anybody that he dominated in stretches. I expect an even better year for Shark and he might be traded if offers are good enough. He’ll be owed approximately $6M for the remainder of the season at the deadline. Thats nothing.
Nah I’d take the guy who can spit out 100 and has filthy stuff. They both can’t stay healthy.
Actually Shark was pretty durable last year but still. His ceiling is a 4 starter on a good team.
I remember when guys like Shark, Archer, Quintana, and Tyson Ross were all the rage as TOR arms. Even Shark and Quintana fetched prospects that were considered among the elite in baseball (Russell and Jimenez, respectively).
All good pitchers, but clearly no aces among them.
Shark actually fetched Semien.
He fetched both.
So filthy that he gave up six runs per nine innings last year. MPH is a meme.
Samardzija does look filthy to me but I think that comes from his hair style than any thing he’s done on the mound
On a toasted sesame seed bun!
No mention of Giancarlo’s calf…idc if it’s west notes
Sorry bro, only west coast calves matter on this post
Giancarlo’s name isn’t an animal…so it doesn’t fit the hodgepodge of awesomeness that is this article.
There are plenty of other Yankee related articles, stick to talking about Yankees players there; not on a post specifically about teams on the other side of the country.
Calf! Ha ha! Unlike others, I got what you were doing.
I didn’t get it until you pointed it out. Good stuff
Lol nicely done
Honestly… Samardzija deal was not nearly as bad as people thought it would be. One year he was injured, one year he was average, two years he was above average. Unless he tanks in 2020 seems like it was a fair deal considering what we’ve seen others get.
The Giants swung and missed badly on both Samardzija and Cueto, among others, which is why they are strapped with a lot of bad contracts. They certainly did not get anything close to what they thought they were paying for with those two starting pitchers in particular. The price for pitchers has skyrocketed since those guys were signed, but considering when they were signed, the Giants significantly overpaid. Comparing those contracts to others that were signed years later by other teams doesn’t change that reality.
It was very much a “win-now” scenario at the time, and I don’t think anyone foresaw how the core would age out as fast as they did.
Remember – in ’16, the Giants were once again in the postseason, and Shark and Cueto were a big part of that. Cueto pitched like a stud, and there was a sense that the Giants could have gone all the way if they had their bullpen not collapsed against the juggernaut Cubs.
Cueto still has time to redeem himself, and the Giants have gotten enough out of Shark to justify his deal. The trade for Longoria was far more of an albatross than either of these pitchers’ contracts.
While the Giants did make the playoffs in 2016, from the allstar break of ‘16 through the entire 2017 season they had the worst record in baseball. They went from good to terrible.
I agree that Cueto and Shark have provided value. The decision to reload with McCutchen and Loria seems like the big mistakes to me even though they didn’t give up much for either player.
(Maybe Lucious Fox will become a great player but it too soon to tell)
Brain Reynolds was the piece that the Giants gave up for McCuthen. He has an outstanding year for the Pirates in 2019. Another screwup by the previous GM. He would have a solid part on the SF outfield last year.
Neither of those deals are why we are in the position we are in. We didn’t what we thought? Pretty sure you expect this type of thing when you sign a 30+ y.o. pitcher to a 5+ year deal lol.. They have been good-great when healthy, and we had money to spend. We spent it. Sorry your team is poor, broheim.
You couldn’t be more of a homer, KirkRueter.
Chief Two Hands:
Samardzija was not a bad swing and miss by any account. How is a 101 ERA+ a bad swing and miss? To believe that is to not understand what a guy like Samardzija brings. He’s an innings eater. The fact that he was not solid for every year of the contract makes him typical.
Did you expect him to be an ace? He wasn’t paid close to ace money. Compare him to the other 2 similar mid-rotation type FA pitchers available that year that all got similar contracts; Mike Leake (ERA+ 97) and Jordan Zimmermann (ERA+ 80). Samardzija performed better than those 2, especially Zimmermann. You could describe the Zimmerman contract as a bad swing and miss, but not Samardzija.
The Giants clearly expected Samardzija and Cueto to both pitch like top of the rotation guys for the duration of their contracts, and neither has come close. You are kidding yourself if you think either of them have been anything more than disappointments for that team.
“The Giants clearly expected Samardzija and Cueto to both pitch like top of the rotation guys…”
No they didn’t. At least not Samardzija. Cueto, yes, and he pitched like a TOR guy until he went down and needed TJ surgery. But they paid Cueto $40M more than Samardzija. Plus, they still had Bumgarner at the top of his game. They still had Matt Cain, and there was hope that he would bounce back. Clearly Samardzija was seen as a #3 or #4.
Samardzija was paid around the same as Mike Leake and Jordan Zimmermann. Everybody knew Leake was not a TOR arm, and if anyone thought Zimmermann was they were seriously deluded. BTW, Zimmermann had a higher AAV of $4m per. Samardzija had an AAV of $18M. If you think you can sign a TOR guy for an AAV of $18M you need to do some research.
Peacock must be hitting the drums too much
Yankees going to come calling ?? I like the Shark, be good to see him go to a contender
The Yankees have announced their intention to fill the void internally.
Good way to get teams looking to sell to up their ante.
Send the Shark to the Yankees. He probably needs the time on the IL that seems to come from being a Yankee. Delicate bunch eh? Maybe Cole can pitch all 162 games.
Samardzija has averaged 186 innings per season for his career. That’s hardly delicate.
Is there a way to block puns on this site? It’s like the annoying banter that has taken over MLB Radio (Steve Phillips must be stopped).
How and why did Jeff Samardzija get a nickname like “Shark”? He’s an average at best pitcher, a 3 or 4. That’s like calling Albert Almora the “Terminator” or something.
Because he is related to Murray Hamilton the guy who played the mayor in Jaws
No one can pronounce suh-MAR-jah
In his freshman year of college he made fun of a senior on the baseball team, who responded that he looked like a character from Shark Tale and it just stuck.
MPH is not something that counts on the stat sheet
At least Mike Leake can show up
You know what this is called? Intimidation:
You’re totally misrepresenting the situation, implying that Samardzija does not show up. You’re wrong. Leake has been exceptionally durable. That Samardzija has been slightly less so does not mean he can’t show up. Leake is 19th among all active players in IP. Samardzija is 26th, averaging 186 IP per season. And when they both show up, Samardzija has been the better pitcher with a 101 ERA+ to Leake’s 97..
He was saying this in another comment with regard to Nathan Eovaldi, whose arm is about to fall off. I was using Leake as an example of a guy who throws floaters but still produces for his team by being durable. I agree that Samardzija is still alright.