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Mets Notes: Zobrist, Murphy, Tejada, O’Day

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The Mets are “very interested” in Ben Zobrist and had a conference call with his representatives at Octagon today, reports Tim Rohan of the New York Times (links to Twitter). Rohan notes, however, that there are as many as 10 teams seriously interested in Zobrist, most of whom are also contenders. Zobrist, who is seeking a four-year deal, is listening to the pitches from each club and wants to play for a winning team. Newsday’s Marc Carig writes that there’s been a “steady dialogue” between the Mets and Zobrist’s camp, but there’s no indication that the Mets are willing to enter a bidding war for the versatile switch-hitter. And Adam Rubin of ESPN New York writes that Mets officials indicated to him last week that their internal expectation was for Zobrist’s robust market to price him out of their comfort zone. To this point, the Mets haven’t made a formal offer to a free agent, Rubin adds. (Although that’s probably true of several clubs.)

Here are a few more notes pertaining to the reigning NL champs…

  • The Mets are expected to make a “legitimate bid” for Daniel Murphy, writes Rubin in a second piece. He adds that some within the Mets organization feel that Murphy might consider an offer from the Mets even if they don’t make the strongest bid due to his longstanding relationship with the team. Carig tweets that it’s still unlikely there will be a reunion though, unless Murphy is willing to leave significant money on the table, adding that the Mets passed on the opportunity to discuss an in-season extension (to which Murphy was open). MLB.com’s Anthony DiComo tweets that the Mets seem to value Zobrist’s versatility (i.e. his outfield capability) over Murphy, but the team may very well get outbid on both free agents anyhow.
  • Rubin also writes that the Mets are moving toward a non-tender of shortstop Ruben Tejada, whose raise in arbitration is beyond what the team is interested in paying him coming off his second broken fibula and considering his rather light bat. MLBTR projects a $2.5MM salary for Tejada, though Rubin’s report is based on a $3MM+ figure that could come about if the team were to lose a hearing to Tejada.
  • Earlier this morning, Ken Rosenthal reported that Darren O’Day is seeking a four-year contract in the $28-36MM range, and while the Mets have been linked to O’Day, Mike Puma of the New York Post tweets that he was told New York “most likely” wouldn’t remain in the mix if the price escalated to those levels.
  • One more from Rubin, who writes that finding a left-handed complement to Juan Lagares in center field is currently the priority for the Mets, though they’re also “poking around” the trade market for a shortstop and considering setup men to add to the back end of their bullpen. The team doesn’t envision any major additions prior to the Winter Meetings, which begin on Dec. 7, Rubin adds.

Reds Hope To Move Chapman Before Winter Meetings

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8:51pm: In a full column, Rosecrans has transcribed the entire quote from Jocketty:

“Boston was probably a player in it, we talked to them, but we didn’t get close to anything. We’ve been talking to clubs, but I don’t think there’s anything that’s close. Hopefully we get something done with somebody before the Winter Meetings. We’d like to get moving on some things.”

8:29pm: Aroldis Chapman’s name has been frequently mentioned in rumors over the past few months, and he figures to become a more pressing issue in the coming weeks. C. Trent Rosecrans of the Cincinnati Enquirer tweets that president of baseball operations Walt Jocketty says there’s “nothing close” with Chapman at this time. Jocketty, though, hopes to get something completed before the onset of the Winter Meetings, according to Rosecrans. This year’s Winter Meetings take place from Dec. 7-10 in Nashville, Tenn.

The Tigers, Red Sox, Astros, Yankees, Diamondbacks, Blue Jays and Nationals have all been mentioned as potential trade partners, though the Tigers and Red Sox have, of course, already picked up late-inning relief help, which could remove them from the market. (Detroit acquired Francisco Rodriguez from the Brewers this morning while Boston landed Craig Kimbrel from the Padres in a weekend blockbuster.) Considering the caliber of arm in question, it’s highly likely that other clubs will enter the mix and have already done so while going unreported.

With one year of club control remaining at a projected $12.9MM rate, Chapman isn’t a long-term piece. But, he’s the type of overpowering arm that a team expecting to contend could acquire to significantly boost its playoff hopes, even if said team already has a closer in place. There’s a very strong case that Chapman is the best relief pitcher in baseball (he’s certainly among the top five or so), and adding him to a bullpen doesn’t remove the incumbent closer, but rather a team’s seventh-best reliever. The difference between Chapman and any club’s most disposable big league reliever, of course, is sizable.

Any club acquiring Chapman now likely feels that it’s acquiring a 2017 draft pick as well, considering the fact that Chapman is the rare reliever that represents an easy call when it comes to a potential qualifying offer. So long as Chapman doesn’t blow out his arm in 2016, it feels like a given that he’ll be worthy of a QO next November. Trading him this winter, then, would be Cincinnati’s best bet at maximizing a return for the soon-to-be 28-year-old Chapman, who owns a 1.90 ERA with 16.1 K/9, 3.8 BB/9 and 145 saves over the past four seasons with the Reds.

Dallas Keuchel, Jake Arrieta Win Cy Young Awards

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Astros left-hander Dallas Keuchel and Cubs right-hander Jake Arrieta have won the Cy Young Awards in their respective leagues, the Baseball Writers Association of America announced tonight.

Keuchel placed in the top two on all 30 ballots (22 first-place votes, eight second-place), earning a total of 186 points. (Weighted seven points for first place, four for second, three for third, two for fourth and one for fifth.) David Price came in a reasonably close second place, landing 21 second place votes and eight first place votes (plus one third place) for a total of 143 points. Sonny Gray, the only other recipient of a second-place vote, finished third with 82 points. Rounding out the ballot were Chris Sale, Chris Archer, Wade Davis, Felix Hernandez, Collin McHugh, Corey Kluber, Marco Estrada, Andrew Miller, Shawn Tolleson, Carlos Carrasco and Dellin Betances, in that order. (Full voting breakdown here.)

The 27-year-old Keuchel was fighting for a rotation spot as recently as Spring Training 2014, but his remarkable transformation into a bona fide ace atop the Houston rotation was completed with a dominant follow-up to a breakout 2014 season. Keuchel led the AL with 232 innings (trailing only Clayton Kershaw’s 232 2/3 innings for the MLB lead) and worked to a pristine 2.48 ERA with 8.4 K/9, 2.0 BB/9 and an AL-best 61.7 percent ground-ball rate. While pitcher wins are no longer as significantly emphasized as they once were, Keuchel’s 20 victories likely still held some weight with many voters (as evidenced, perhaps, by teammate and 19-game winner McHugh receiving votes despite logging a 3.89 ERA).

In the National League, voting was even closer, as most would expect. Arrieta’s 169 points narrowly edged out Zack Greinke’s 147 points, with Clayton Kershaw coming in third with a total of 101. Rounding out the ballot, in order, were Gerrit Cole, Max Scherzer, Madison Bumgarner, Jacob deGrom, Mark Melancon and John Lackey. (Full voting breakdown.)

Arrieta delivered a strong first half of the season but ratcheted things up with an historic second half, yielding a breathtaking four earned runs in his final 88 1/3 innings. Arrieta recorded an 89-to-14 K/BB ratio over that dominant stretch and shrank his earned run average from 2.62 to 1.77 in the process. He also led the Senior Circuit with 22 wins, four complete games and three shutouts.

There was a split camp between Arrieta and Greinke, the latter of whom posted a 1.66 ERA — the lowest earned run average since Greg Maddux 20 years ago. Greinke recorded 19 wins and averaged 8.1 strikeouts per nine innings against just 1.6 walks per nine in 222 2/3 innings with the Dodgers this season and also enjoyed an otherworldly run of 45 2/3 scoreless innings over the middle portion of the season. Incredibly, Greinke allowed just 19 runs over his first 19 starts this season.

Soria Eyeing Three-Year Deal In Vicinity Of $27MM

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Right-hander Joakim Soria is one of the top names on the free-agent market for relievers and is aiming to be compensated accordingly in the form of a three-year deal in the $27MM range, according to ESPN’s Jayson Stark (Twitter link).

Soria, 32 next May, is considered by many to be the top relief arm on the market outside of Darren O’Day, who as of today is said to be seeking a four-year deal in the $28-36MM range himself. It’s perhaps no coincidence that the asking price for Soria has come out shortly after the same information on O’Day, though Stark does cite teams that are active on the relief market as the source of his intel.

A wide number of clubs have been linked to Soria in the early stages of the offseason, including the Tigers, Rangers, Red Sox, Twins and Royals, though SB Nation’s Chris Cotillo tweeted today that the Red Sox are out of the running in the wake of their Craig Kimbrel acquisition. He adds that Soria is open to closing or setting up — a sentiment also heard by ESPN’s Buster Olney (Twitter link), who notes that Soria will still seek a “closer-like contract” even if he accepts an eighth-inning role. The number reported by Stark would seem to reflect that thinking.

Soria just completed a solid season split as the Tigers’ closer and a setup man for Pirates’ closer Mark Melancon. Both Soria’s 2.53 ERA and 67 1/3 innings pitched represent the best marks he has posted since an All-Star season with the Royals back in 2010. Soria missed the 2012 campaign with Tommy John surgery and struggled a bit upon returning late in the 2013 season, but his overall body of work since returning from the procedure is strong. In 135 2/3 innings post-TJ, Soria has logged a 2.99 ERA with 9.3 K/9 against 2.6 BB/9 to go along with 42 saves.

Latest On Angels’ Front Office

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4:36pm: Eppler tells Fletcher that the Angels “have not hired Bud Black” and are still in the process of assembling their front office unit (links to Twitter). However, Fletcher notes that it won’t be a surprise if Black ultimately does land in the Angels’ front office, calling him a natural fit.

Notably, Bill Shaikin of the L.A. Times has tweeted that Black will join the front office even after Eppler’s comment, so perhaps in light of the drama with the Nationals, the Angels are just being careful to limit talk of Black’s return until everything is official.

4:09pm: Former Padres skipper and Angels pitching coach Bud Black will return to the Halos as a member of their front office, reports MLB.com’s Alden Gonzalez. Black’s specific role isn’t clear just yet, though Gonzalez says he’ll likely be a special assistant to GM Billy Eppler. Additionally, Jeff Fletcher of the O.C. Register reports that the Angels have hired Yankees manager of pro scouting as their new assistant general manager.

Black, 58, was fired by the Padres in June of this past season after serving as the team’s skipper for parts of the past nine seasons. He drew offseason interest from both the Nationals and Dodgers in the clubs’ respective managerial searches and was even reported at one point to be the Nats’ choice as their new manager. However, contract discussions between the two sides broke down, and Washington ultimately tabbed Dusty Baker as its new manager. Following that, Black was reported to be one of a handful of finalists for the Dodgers, but the field has since been narrowed to two (Gabe Kapler and Black’s former bench coach Dave Roberts).

Black began his coaching career with the Angels, serving as Mike Scioscia’s pitching coach from 2000-06 before being named Padres’ manager. While his exact duties aren’t yet known, one can envision him working with the club’s young pitchers in Spring Training and going on advance scouting assignments to weigh in on pitchers over the course of the regular season.

Martone, of course, has a connection to Eppler from the pair’s time together in the front office, where Eppler recently held the title of assistant GM. He’ll absorb many of the duties that were shared by Angels assistant GMs Matt Klentak and Scott Servais, who recently left the Halos’ front office to become GM of the Phillies and manager of the Mariners, respectively. Fletcher notes that Martone has been with the Yankees dating back to 2007 and was largely responsible for identifying trade and free-agent targets in New York.

Gonzalez also reports that Ron Roenicke, who served as the Angels’ third base coach from 2000-05 but has more recently been manager of the Brewers and third base coach for the Dodgers, will also return to the Angels. He’ll assume his former duties as the third base coach in Anaheim after missing out on the Dodgers’ managerial gig himself.

David Carpenter Elects Free Agency After Being Outrighted By Nationals

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The Nationals announced today that they have outrighted veteran right-hander David Carpenter off the 40-man roster. Carpenter elected free agency rather than taking the minor league assignment, as is his right as a player with three-plus years of Major League service time. He’d have been arbitration eligible this offseason, with MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projecting a salary of $1.5MM.

The 30-year-old Carpenter has had a whirlwind calendar year. After enjoying an excellent run with the Braves from 2013-14 –2.63 ERA, 10.0 K/9, 2.6 BB/9 in 126 2/3 innings — Carpenter found himself traded to the Yankees alongside lefty Chasen Shreve in exchange for Manny Banuelos. Things didn’t go well for Carpenter in his brief Bronx stay, as he pitched to a 4.82 ERA with an 11-to-7 K/BB ratio in 18 2/3 innings. The Nationals, though, perhaps intrigued by the strong 94.9 mph average on Carpenter’s heater and increased ground-ball rate, swung a trade to acquire him from New York after he was designated for assignment.

With the Nationals, Carpenter surrendered just one run in his first six innings but quickly landed on the disabled list due to inflammation in his throwing shoulder. That injury eventually led to a transfer to the 60-day DL and would ultimately prove to be a season-ender for the right-hander.

Carpenter and his agents at Sports One Athlete Management will now have the ability to test the open market earlier than expected. As a player with four-plus years of big league service, Carpenter comes with the bonus of being controllable via the arbitration process following the 2016 season for any team that wishes to buy low on a minor league pact in hopes that he can rediscover the for he displayed in his peak seasons with the Braves. A one-year deal with a low base salary is also a possibility, though Carpenter passed through outright waivers unclaimed with a projected price tag of just $1.5MM.

Bronson Arroyo Interested In Return To Reds

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3:17pm: Reds GM Dick Williams tells Fay that the team would only have interest in Arroyo if he can first demonstrate that he’s back to full health after Tommy John surgery (Twitter link).

2:48pm: Righty Bronson Arroyo was in Cincinnati today to meet with Reds manager Bryan Price and discuss a possible return, John Fay of WCPO Cincinnati reports. The veteran free agent said that he’d “love to come back” to the club.

Arroyo, 38, enjoyed a solid eight-year run with the Reds before departing for the D’backs via free agency after the 2013 campaign. He contributed nearly 1700 innings in that stretch, carrying a 4.05 ERA with 5.9 K/9 against 2.3 BB/9.

It’s been a while since Arroyo took the hill, as he missed about half of 2014 and all of 2015 after undergoing Tommy John surgery. He bounced between organizations as part of the salary-swapping elements of a pair of trades, but is now formally a free agent.

Arroyo indicated that he expects to be ready to go for the spring. “My elbow finally started feeling 100 percent five days ago,” he said. “There was a little spot in there. The scar tissue finally broke up or something.”

It’s somewhat unclear at present exactly how much interest the club has in a reunion. Cincinnati is, after all, entering a rebuilding phase and may not want to beat the market. But there is both need and opportunity in the rotation, too, as MLBTR’s Charlie Wilmoth explained in breaking down the club’s offseason. The Reds relied very heavily on young arms down the stretch and could certainly stand to add the innings and presence of a veteran such as Arroyo to an inexperienced staff.

Devon Travis Out For 16-20 Weeks After Shoulder Surgery

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Blue Jays second baseman Devon Travis will not be able to resume baseball activities for 16 to 20 weeks after undergoing left shoulder surgery, per a club announcement (via Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet.ca, on Twitter). If that time frame holds, Travis will not be ready for Opening Day of the 2016 season.

Travis, 25 in February, was an early Rookie of the Year favorite before shoulder troubles slowed and eventually cut short his excellent 2015 campaign. Acquired from the Tigers in an offseason swap that sent Anthony Gose to Detroit, Travis burst onto the scene with a .304/.361/.498 batting line but was limited to just 62 games and 239 total plate appearances. It’s unclear exactly when he’ll be ready to join the Blue Jays, but for the early portion of the season, it seems safe to assume that Ryan Goins will man second base in Toronto, as he did following Travis’ 2015 injuries.

The question for Toronto is whether or not to seek additional second base depth beyond Goins. While bringing in a starting-caliber second baseman seems unlikely, the team did go out and acquire Cliff Pennington (who signed with the Angels yesterday) to add some infield depth late in the season. Making a similar type of addition, perhaps on a minor league deal, could make sense for the Blue Jays as they look to safeguard themselves against further injuries. Losing Goins, for instance, would greatly call their infield depth into question.

Starting pitching and relief help figure to remain Toronto’s primary focus, but some speculative depth options for the Jays could include names like Jonathan Herrera, Mike Aviles and Alberto Callaspo. A reunion with fan favorite Munenori Kawasaki would, of course, provide additional middle infield depth as well.

Darren O’Day Seeks Four-Year Deal

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Free agent reliever Darren O’Day is asking teams for four years with a guarantee in the range of $28MM to $36MM, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports reports on Twitter. That’s hardly a surprising request, as the veteran righty probably represents the best free agent pen piece on the open market.

MLBTR’s Tim Dierkes ranked O’Day 33rd on his list of the top fifty free agents. While he predicted that O’Day would command an average annual value in the range suggested by today’s report, Dierkes also said that he expects only a three-year guaranteed term. Last year, two relievers achieved four-year deals, but both (Andrew Miller and David Robertson) were significantly younger than O’Day. Miller’s guarantee came in at $36MM, while Robertson got $46MM in his contract.

It remains an open question whether the 33-year-old can secure that added season. O’Day appears to have a wide market, but at least two prospective landing spots — the Red Sox and Tigers — may no longer be willing to pay top dollar for a reliever after adding options via trade. And there are other major relief arms still on the trading block, not to mention other quality free agents (such as Joakim Soria and Tyler Clippard) to contend with.

Free Agent Profile: Jeff Samardzija

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After an offseason trade to the White Sox, Jeff Samardzija struggled through his worst season in four years as a starting pitcher.  He’ll still likely aim for a sizable multiyear contract in free agency.

Strengths/Pros

Samardzija is, first and foremost, a workhorse.  He tossed 647 1/3 regular season innings from 2013-15, sixth-most in baseball.  David Price is the only free agent with more during that span, and he only had eight additional innings.  Samardzija has never been on the disabled list and has never missed a start due to injury.  The 6’5″, 225 lb. righty seems built to last.

Aug 19, 2015; Anaheim, CA, USA; Chicago White Sox starting pitcher Jeff Samardzija (29) pitches against the Los Angeles Angels during the first inning at Angel Stadium of Anaheim. Mandatory Credit: Kelvin Kuo-USA TODAY Sports

Samardzija has lower mileage on his arm than most of his fellow free agents, mainly because he spent a portion of his big league career as a reliever.  As a 31-year-old with no DL time, Samardzija has still only thrown 1502 pro innings.  Yovani Gallardo, who is a year younger than Samardzija, has 1901 innings.  Johnny Cueto and Scott Kazmir have mileage similar to Gallardo.  Ian Kennedy has 1590 2/3 innings, a total held down by 2009 shoulder surgery.  Jordan Zimmermann and Wei-Yin Chen have lower mileage than Samardzija, but both had Tommy John surgery.  Mike Leake, who recently turned 28, has 1115 career innings.

Samardzija has shown the ability to pitch at the front end of a rotation.  He was his team’s Opening Day starter in each of the past three seasons, and earned an All-Star nod in 2014.  That season, Samardzija posted a 2.99 ERA in 219 2/3 innings.  His 4.7 K/BB ratio ranked 14th among qualified starters.  He also brings the heat.  From 2012-15, Samardzija averaged 94.6 miles per hour on his fastball, second only to Stephen Strasburg among those with 600 innings.

Samardzija turned the corner with his control in 2014, walking only 1.8 batters per nine innings.  His 1.9 mark from 2014-15 ranks 15th among qualified starters, and many of those ranked above him are soft-tossers.  From 2012-14, Samardzija showed an elite combination of skills and durability, ranking eighth in MLB with a 3.35 SIERA for those with 600 or more innings.  During those three years, Samardzija was firmly operating in Jordan Zimmermann/Jon Lester territory.  That valuation was borne out when Samardzija (along with Jason Hammel) netted the Cubs Addison Russell and Billy McKinney in a trade with the Athletics.

Weaknesses/Cons

There’s no tiptoeing around the fact that 2015 was a very rough season for Samardzija.  He allowed the most hits and earned runs of any MLB starter, and he tied for the most home runs allowed in the AL.  In his four seasons as a starter, his 6.9 K/9 was easily a career worst, as were his 4.96 ERA, 1.22 HR/9, and 39% groundball rate.  In his 32 starts, he allowed five or more earned runs in 11 of them.  Samardzija had a stretch in August where he gave up 22 earned runs in three starts.  Zack Greinke didn’t give up his 22nd earned run until his 21st start of the season.  A childhood fan of the White Sox, Samardzija’s season on the south side of Chicago did not go as planned.

In four seasons as a starter, Samardzija has posted a 4.03 ERA over 822 innings, and his only campaign below 3.81 was 2014.  In each of the 2012, ’13, and ’15 seasons, Samardzija’s SIERA was significantly below his ERA.  What has caused the big righty to post higher-than-expected ERAs in three out of his four seasons as a starter?  Batting average on balls in play, home run per flyball rate, and issues pitching out of the stretch have all manifested in those three seasons, but none consistently.  His All-Star season, 2014, was the only one where all three of those factors were normal.  I asked SIERA creator Matt Swartz about this, and he concluded, “You have to figure he’s more likely to underperform his SIERA than the average pitcher, but nothing jumps out as a persistent problem.”

With the White Sox, Samardzija reduced the usage of his two-seam fastball in favor of the cutter, perhaps unsurprisingly.  That pitch change mix supports the narrative that Samardzija can be fixed.  On the other hand, why couldn’t Samardzija right the ship during the 2015 season?

Samardzija received and turned down a qualifying offer from the White Sox, so signing him requires draft pick forfeiture.  Teams with unprotected picks in the teens such as the Red Sox, Diamondbacks, and Orioles could shy away.

Personal

Jeff Samardzija was born and raised in Merrillville, a town in Northwest Indiana.  Inspired by his older brother Sam, Jeff played football, baseball, and basketball at Valparaiso High School.  Tragically, Jeff lost his mother Debora during that time to a rare lung disease.  With his father and brother in mind, Jeff looked at colleges close to home and landed a football scholarship to Notre Dame.  Jeff was a star wide receiver for the Irish, but quietly pitched for the college’s baseball team as well.  A baseball teammate noted Jeff resembled the shark from Finding Nemo, giving him a nickname that stuck.  Since most teams thought he was destined for the NFL, Samardzija fell to the fifth round in the MLB draft in 2006.  Cubs GM Jim Hendry was a good friend of Samardzija’s baseball coach Paul Mainieri, who urged Hendry to draft the greatest athlete he’d ever coached.  Jeff agreed to a $250K deal with the Cubs, provided he could return to Notre Dame for his senior season.

After making seven appearances for Cubs minor league affiliates in Boise and Peoria, Samardzija had to decide whether to commit to the Cubs or enter the 2007 NFL draft as a potential first-round pick.  Samardzija surprised the Cubs by working out a five-year, $10MM deal to commit to baseball.  Samardzija ascended through the Cubs’ minor league system more because of his contract than due to success.  As an up-and-down reliever, Samardzija briefly kicked around a return to football in April 2010.  However, he had a decent year out of the Cubs’ pen in 2011, and then Theo Epstein’s regime took over the team’s front office.  Samardzija removed his distractions that offseason and told Epstein he wanted to be a starting pitcher.  He was awarded the Cubs’ fifth starter job out of camp in 2012, and his MLB career took off.

Market

We see Samardzija in a tier with Wei-Yin Chen and Mike Leake, a notch below David Price, Zack Greinke, Jordan Zimmermann, and Johnny Cueto.  Comparing Samardzija’s contract with Chen’s will offer an interesting data point on whether teams are really moving past ERA.  ERA makes Chen look better than Samardzija, yet Samardzija has a better reputation with the team executives to whom we’ve spoken, as well as superior skill-based stats.  For some teams, Samardzija offers a chance at a #2 type starter coming off a down year, resulting in a potential bargain.  Samardzija is an innings guy at worst, with the same high floor as Leake.  Leake, however, doesn’t offer the same ceiling.

Though the draft pick loss will be an issue for some, a potential list of suitors for Samardzija includes the Orioles, Red Sox, Yankees, Blue Jays, Tigers, Royals, Twins, Astros, Angels, Rangers, Marlins, Nationals, Cubs, Cardinals, Diamondbacks, Padres, Dodgers, and Giants.  He could be a top choice for a team like the Tigers, who intend to add multiple starters and therefore may sit out the $100MM+ market.  Former Cubs GM Jim Hendry currently works for the Yankees (at least for now), so there’s an obvious connection with Shark.

Expected Contract

In June 2014, Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports reported Samardzija rejected a five-year extension offer from the Cubs worth slightly more than $85MM.  A few months prior, Homer Bailey had signed an extension with the Reds for six years and $105MM, and that comparable may have compelled Samardzija to turn down the Cubs.  The Cubs’ argument may have been that Bailey was younger than Samardzija, and that’s why he received a sixth year.  That same question still exists: is there a team willing to sign Samardzija through 2020, his age 35 season?  Given the list of teams above, as well as the pitcher’s durability, I think there will be enough suitors for Samardzija and his agents at Wasserman Media Group to get a fifth year on the open market.  A slightly lower average annual value could bolster that case – Samardzija may cost $16-17MM per year, as opposed to $20MM+ salaries for guys like Rick Porcello and, presumably, Zimmermann.  I’m predicting a five-year, $80MM deal for Samardzija.

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