Jeff Samardzija

Giants Notes: Samardzija, Upcoming Roster Decisions

By Steve Adams | May 30, 2018 at 7:55pm CDT

The Giants announced on Wednesday that right-hander Jeff Samardzija has been placed on the 10-day disabled list due to tightness in his right shoulder. Right-hander Tyler Beede is up from Triple-A Sacramento to take his spot on the roster for the time being, though the organization’s current hope is that Samardzija will only miss one start, per Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle. An MRI revealed some inflammation in Samardzija’s shoulder, per Schulman, but there’s no structural damage. With so many injuries in their rotation, the Giants briefly had all three starters listed as “TBA” this weekend, though they’ve since said that Chris Stratton and Andrew Suarez will start the first two games of the series, while a determination on Sunday’s starter has seemingly yet to be made. Schulman notes that the club had been planning to move lefty Ty Blach to the bullpen, but he’s now a candidate to start in Samardzija’s place on Sunday, as is rookie Dereck Rodriguez.

A bit more out of San Francisco, where there are several roster decisions looming on the horizon…

With Joe Panik, Alen Hanson and Mark Melancon all likely to return from the DL this weekend, and Madison Bumgarner likely to be activated next Tuesday, and two of them (Melancon and Bumgarner) will require corresponding 40-man moves. Kerry Crowley of the San Jose Mercury News runs through some possibilities for the roster over the next six days, listing Steven Okert, Roberto Gomez and Jose Valdez as candidates to be designated for assignment in order to clear 40-man spots for Melancon and Bumgarner.
More complicated, Crowley notes, is the impending return of Hunter Pence from the 10-day DL. Manager Bruce Bochy implied that Pence will return to the 25-man roster when his rehab window expires this weekend, though his exact role looks uncertain. Andrew McCutchen is the team’s regular right fielder, and the Giants have said that Mac Williamson will be given an everyday opportunity in left field. Pence, of course, can’t play center field, so he appears headed for a limited role. Crowley suggests that either Austin Jackson or Gregor Blanco could land on the disabled list as a temporary fix, though it stands to reason that if Williamson proves adept in left field, the Giants could eventually have a more difficult decision on their hands.

Injury Notes: Samardzija, Tigers, Pollock, Maeda, Mets

By Steve Adams | May 29, 2018 at 10:57pm CDT

Giants right-hander Jeff Samardzija exited Tuesday’s start after just one inning due to tightness in his right shoulder, writes Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area. Any shoulder trouble for a pitcher, of course, is concerning to an extent, but Samardzija’s early exit comes with extra cause for worry given that his fastball was sitting at 91 mph on Tuesday, per Pavlovic. Samardzija’s velocity has been down, in general, early this season, but he’d previously averaged 92.4 mph. The injury to Samardzija is the latest blow to a Giants rotation that has yet to receive a single inning from Madison Bumgarner this season and also lost Johnny Cueto for an extended period earlier this month. In 35 2/3 innings this season, Samardzija has lumped to a 6.56 ERA with 6.6 K/9, 5.8 BB/9, 1.51 HR/9 and a 33.9 percent ground-ball rate.

Some more injury updates from around baseball…

Tigers manager Ron Gardenhire told reporters tonight that the team has placed left-handers Francisco Liriano and Daniel Stumpf on the disabled list due to a right hamstring strain and ulnar nerve irritation, respectively (Twitter links via Anthony Fenech of the Detroit Free Press). It’s not clear exactly how long either is expected to miss, though the move will send one of the team’s top trade chips shelf (Liriano) while leaving Gardenhire without a left-handed option in the bullpen. Ryan Carpenter is coming up to join the team’s rotation for the time being, per MLB.com’s Jason Beck (on Twitter), while right-hander Johnny Barbato will be added to the bullpen.
A.J. Pollock’s fractured thumb has not yet fully healed, D-backs skipper Torey Lovullo told reporters (Twitter link via Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic). That didn’t come as a surprise to the organization, per Lovullo, who said that Pollock’s progress is “exactly where we thought it would be.” As Piecoro indicates, the latest update suggests that Pollock’s return won’t come on the short end of his originally projected timetable of four to eight weeks. The short end of that timeline would’ve lined up Pollock for a return in mid-June, but the eight-week timeline would extend his absence closer to the All-Star break.
The Dodgers pulled Kenta Maeda from tonight’s start in the second inning due to a right hip strain, tweets Alanna Rizzo of SportsNetLA. The Dodgers trainers checked on Maeda on two separate occasions in the second frame, and he was pulled on the trainer’s second trip to the mound. Los Angeles is already without Clayton Kershaw, Rich Hill and Hyun-Jin Ryu, each of whom is on the disabled list, though Kershaw is likely to return this week. Maeda, who owns a 3.61 ERA and a 68-to-18 K/BB ratio in 52 1/3 frames this season, would represent another costly loss at a time when L.A. was hoping to see its rotation begin inching toward better health with the return of Kershaw.
Steven Matz exited tonight’s start with discomfort in his left middle finger, though the Mets said that x-rays have already ruled out a broken bone, per Kristie Ackert of the New York Daily News. The injury occurred when swinging in his latest at-bat, and Matz is headed for an MRI for further evaluation, tweets Tim Britton of The Athletic. The Mets already lost Noah Syndergaard to the DL earlier today, so even a brief absence for Matz would be all the more problematic. On the plus side for the Mets, right-hander Anthony Swarzak made a rehab appearance in Triple-A Las Vegas tonight and threw a scoreless inning with two strikeouts and one hit allowed.

Giants Place Johnny Cueto On 10-Day DL

By Steve Adams | April 10, 2018 at 8:42pm CDT

The Giants have placed right-hander Johnny Cueto on the 10-day disabled list due to a sprained ankle he sustained in a workout over the weekend, as Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area writes. The move is retroactive to April 7. Left-hander Steven Okert is up from Triple-A to give the team an extra arm for tonight’s game against the D-backs, and southpaw Andrew Suarez will be promoted tomorrow to make his Major League debut in what would’ve been Cueto’s spot in the rotation.

While Cueto’s injury doesn’t sound serious, it’s nonetheless the latest blow in a series of rotation injuries that have hindered the Giants early on in the season. Madison Bumgarner has yet to pitch this season due to a fractured finger that he sustained in Spring Training, while Jeff Samardzija has also yet to make his season debut owing to a pectoral injury. Pavlovic does relay some good news for Giants fans, as Samardzija is slated to make a rehab appearance on Saturday and should be activated for his next turn in the rotation after that.

In many respects, Cueto is off to a solid start to the 2018 season, having yielded just one run on nine hits and two walks through his first 13 innings. However, Cueto’s velocity has dipped from an average of 91.3 mph last season to just 90 mph thus far, and he’s managed to strike out just five batters while posting an uncharacteristically low seven percent swinging-strike rate.

Suarez, meanwhile, was the Giants’ second-round pick back in the 2015 draft. The University of Miami product has made just one Triple-A start this season but impressed there in 2017, tossing 88 2/3 frames with 8.1 K/9, 2.7 BB/9 and a 49.2 percent ground-ball rate following a promotion from Double-A, where he’d also impressed. San Francisco is already turning to its top pitching prospect, Tyler Beede, to make his MLB debut tonight, and they’ll follow him with another of the farm’s most promising young hurlers in Suarez — giving fans a potential glimpse of the future. MLB.com ranks Suarez as the Giants’ No. 10 prospect, calling him a high-floor prospect who should at the very least settle in as a back-of-the-rotation starter.

Quick Hits: Duffy, Melky, Indians, Brewers, Giants

By Connor Byrne | April 7, 2018 at 10:26pm CDT

Royals left-hander Danny Duffy was a popular name in trade rumors during the offseason, but he ended up staying put. Duffy remains a trade candidate, however, according to Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe. It would take “the right package of prospects” to land the 29-year-old Duffy, Cafardo writes. Duffy’s under control through 2021 for a total of $60MM. He’s off to a rough start this year – albeit over two just two appearances – having allowed eight earned runs on 10 hits and five walks (with eight strikeouts) in 9 2/3 innings.

NL West Notes: Padres, Rockies, Giants

By Connor Byrne | April 1, 2018 at 8:27am CDT

A quick look around the NL West…

After a rough season debut Saturday, Padres right-hander Luis Perdomo is in danger of losing his starting job, perhaps even his roster spot, AJ Cassavell of MLB.com writes. The 24-year-old Perdomo surrendered five earned runs on seven hits and four walks (with seven strikeouts) in four innings during a loss to Milwaukee, after which Padres manager Andy Green said: “It’s two years on the roster [for Perdomo]. It’s just one outing this year, and it wasn’t a great outing. But it’s time for him to go. It’s time for him to step up and attack. The challenge is out there in front of him.” If Perdomo does fall out of San Diego’s starting five, it could turn to left-hander Robbie Erlin, per Cassavell. Erlin, 27, pitched 3 2/3 innings of two-run relief Saturday in his first action since undergoing Tommy John surgery in May 2016.
Rockies first baseman Ian Desmond left the team’s game early Saturday with right knee soreness, and he’s now day-to-day, according to Nick Groke of the Denver Post. Desmond got off to a good start prior to the injury, going 4 for 10 with a home run, as he attempts to rebound from an injury-filled, highly disappointing 2017. Colorado replaced him with Ryan McMahon on Saturday.
Giants righty Jeff Samardzija, who has been out for over a week with a strained pectoral muscle, is progressing in his recovery, manager Bruce Bochy told Kerry Crowley of the Mercury News and other reporters Saturday. Samardzija probably won’t be ready the first time the Giants need a fifth starter (April 10), Bochy suggested, but it appears likely he’ll return to their rotation sometime this month.

Jeff Samardzija Suffers Pec Injury, Will Begin Season On DL

By Kyle Downing | March 23, 2018 at 6:58am CDT

TODAY: Samardzija’s MRI revealed only a strained pectoral muscle, Andrew Baggarly writes in an updated piece. The right-hander will be rested for 10 days, according to Giants skipper Bruce Bochy, so a DL stint still looks imminent.

YESTERDAY: The Giants are concerned that right-hander Jeff Samardzija may have a shoulder injury according to reports. Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle was among the first to tweet the news. There’s a lot of uncertainty surrounding the situation, but “Shark” had an MRI today and is undergoing further examination on his throwing shoulder. Andrew Baggarly of The Athletic tweets that it’s “pretty clear he will begin the season on the DL.”

We’re still awaiting further news on the subject (including the actual results of the MRI itself), but the absence of Samardzija for any significant portion of the season would prove a huge blow to a Giants club that was expected to contend this season following an offseason overhaul of a roster that lost 98 games in 2017. Baggarly tweets that left-handed non-roster invite Derek Holland is an option to replace him in the rotation. Baggarly also adds that the team is unlikely to pursue any free agents at this point, as Bruce Bochy says the team is looking at internal options.

That would leave just Holland, Ty Blach and Chris Stratton as the club’s feasible options behind mainstays Madison Bumgarner and Johnny Cueto. It’s also worth noting that the club has Tyler Beede (ranked the organization’s fourth-best prospect) set to begin the season at Triple-A. If the club were to explore free agents, they’d be parsing through a thin crop of remaining starters that includes Scott Feldman and Ubaldo Jimenez among the top remaining options.

The Giants were likely expecting another workhorse performance from the 33-year-old Samardzija, who’s one of just two pitchers in all of major league baseball to have thrown at least 200 innings in each of the past five seasons (the other being Max Scherzer). During that span, he’s put up a 4.10 ERA, and his 3.68 xFIP actually indicates that he’s pitched quite a bit better than that. He’s also struck out 8.09 batters per nine innings while limiting walks to just 2.18 per nine.

NL West Notes: Samardzija, Padres, Rockies

By Jeff Todd | March 3, 2018 at 1:28am CDT

Giants righty Jeff Samardzija held an interesting chat with MLB.com’s Jon Morosi. In large part, it’s a lengthy discussion of Samardzija’s multi-sport background and decision to pursue baseball professionally — which, he says, was driven more by interest than any considerations of the health implications of playing in the NFL. The San Francisco hurler likens the game of baseball to a “big painting you put together” and hints he could still have some masterpieces in his brush. He also suggests he’s not yet thinking about the end: “Where’s the end of the wick? Who knows? Let’s find out. That’s the fun of it all.”

Jeff Samardzija Clears Revocable Trade Waivers

By Jeff Todd | August 28, 2017 at 8:04pm CDT

Giants righty Jeff Samardzija has cleared revocable trade waivers, according to Jon Heyman of Fan Rag. That means that the hurler can be freely dealt over the next few days — though he does also possess no-trade rights against all but eight MLB teams.

Just because Samardzija can now theoretically be traded doesn’t mean that a deal is likely, of course. His contract pays him $18MM annually for three more seasons, which helps explain why no other organizations placed a claim. And he not only has veto powers over deals to any teams except for the Angels, Athletics, Cubs, Dodgers, Mets, Nationals, Red Sox, and Yankees, but has suggested he may be inclined to exercise those rights.

Beyond his contract, Samardzija’s trade appeal is also a matter of some debate. The 32-year-old has averaged an impressive 9.1 K/9 against 1.4 BB/9 over his 167 2/3 innings on the season, is throwing about as hard as ever, and he could top 200 frames for the fifth consecutive year. But he has also worked to a subpar 4.67 ERA.

Samardzija joins a long list of players that have reportedly cleared waivers, setting the stage for final negotiations with the deadline to add players with postseason eligibility looming at the end of the month. You can find them all at this link.

Heyman’s Latest: Astros, Verlander, Samardzija, Rays, Mets, Dickey

By Jeff Todd and Steve Adams | August 17, 2017 at 10:20pm CDT

In his weekly Inside Baseball column, Jon Heyman of Fan Rag takes a look at the tightly packed AL Wild Card race. He also provides some notes from both the American League and National League. Let’s take a look at some of the highlights of relevance to the transactional landscape:

While the Astros could still conceivably renew their pursuit of Tigers righty Justin Verlander, it may be that the talks are over barring a significant change of heart from one or both of the organizations. Heyman cites a source who said he felt negotiations were “put to bed last week.” In other news regarding Houston, Heyman says the club “never got serious” in their apparently limited pursuits of Jose Quintana, Sonny Gray or Yu Darvish in July, and one source indicated to Heyman that it never even made an offer for Quintana this summer. The Astros, of course, pursued Quintana extensively this offseason, so the front office was likely already well aware of Chicago’s lofty asking price for Quintana.
It seems the Giants have yet to place righty Jeff Samardzija on waivers, with Heyman suggesting it’s seen as unlikely he’ll be claimed when he does go on the wire. But the belief is that the starter could be targeted if he does clear waivers. Samardzija has carried compelling strikeout (160) and walk (23) numbers through his 155 2/3 innings on the year, though he has also allowed 22 home runs and owns a 4.74 ERA. He has turned in four-straight quality outings, it’s worth noting.
The Rays are interested in finding a right-handed hitter, according to Heyman, though it’s unclear just what the club might realistically look to do. Tampa Bay has not performed as had been hoped when the team reshaped its roster over the summer, which surely also alters the picture. Reserves such as Trevor Plouffe, Daniel Robertson, and Peter Bourjos have all struggled with the bat, though finding upgrades will be challenging at this stage. (As mostly goes without saying, the decision to part with Tim Beckham has not looked good thus far.)
After striking a variety of deals already, the Mets are “still working hard” to deal away more players this August, Heyman writes. Veteran outfielder Curtis Granderson still seems like the most obvious possible trade piece, though perhaps infielder Asdrubal Cabrera, lefty Jerry Blevins, catcher Rene Rivera, or even recently-acquired reliever A.J. Ramos could be moved.
The Braves are considering exercising their $8MM club option over knuckleballer R.A. Dickey for the 2018 season, per Heyman. That option comes with a $500K buyout, effectively making it a $7.5MM decision. The Braves are pleased with the 42-year-old’s durability, innings and leadership. Through 141 frames this season, Dickey has a 3.89 ERA with 6.1 K/9, 3.5 BB/9 and a 49.5 percent ground-ball rate. Realistically, the club would be hard pressed to find better value on the open market and will need the innings next year.
Some clubs believe that the Angels are the team that placed the claim on Tigers second baseman Ian Kinsler, per Heyman, who notes that Anaheim is still in the market for a second base upgrade. However, the Halos have only “limited” interest in Braves second baseman Brandon Phillips, who has reportedly cleared revocable waivers and is having a solid season at the plate.

Jeff Samardzija Unlikely To Waive No-Trade Clause

By Steve Adams | July 26, 2017 at 7:55pm CDT

Jeff Samardzija’s name has come up frequently in recent trade rumors, but the 32-year-old right-hander’s five-year, $90MM contract allows him to block trades to all but eight teams. Moreover, Samardzija tells Andrew Baggarly of the San Jose Mercury News that if approached by the Giants about a trade to one of the teams over which he has veto power, he wouldn’t be interested in waiving the clause.

“I love being here,” said Samardzija shortly after praising the Giants’ core players and suggesting that the team fully believes it can turn the tide next season. Samardzija smiled yesterday when telling Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle that he “[doesn’t] remember” the eight teams to which he can be traded without his approval (Twitter link), but Baggarly now reports the full list in a separate column.

According to Baggarly, Samardzija can be traded to the Red Sox, Cubs, Mets, Yankees, Angels, Dodgers, Athletics and Nationals without his consent. All other teams — including the Astros, who have been the team most frequently connected to Samardzija on the rumor circuit — require Samardzija’s consent, and it doesn’t sound like he’s interested in green-lighting any proposals.

Samardzija is owed $18MM annually and has struggled in the estimation of traditional metrics this season. He’s sporting a 5-11 record with a 4.85 ERA, but most other statistical means of evaluation are rather bullish on the righty. He’s averaging 9.7 K/9 against 1.1 BB/9, both of which would be the best marks of his career, and leading the Majors in K/BB ratio. His 43.3 percent ground-ball rate is only a tick below average, and he’s inducing more swings at pitches out of the strike zone than he ever has before. Samardzija’s fastball velocity has also held strong at an average of just over 94 mph, and he’s averaging nearly 6 2/3 innings per start. Metrics like FIP (3.49), xFIP (3.13) and SIERA (3.28 prior to today’s strong outing) all view him much more favorably than earned run average.

Samardzija has struggled with men on base, in part due to the fact that he’s one of many pitchers throughout the league that has seen his HR/9 rate and HR/FB ratio spike as balls are leaving the yard at a higher rate than ever before in MLB history. And while his durability and K/BB numbers are impressive, some teams will no doubt express some skepticism that Samardzija would be able to better keep the ball in the yard by vacating the spacious AT&T Park as his home stadium. The remaining money on his contract also figures to be a concern to come clubs, as he represents a fairly sizable commitment to those that are near the luxury tax threshold.

All of that sounds to be mostly a moot point anyhow. Among the teams to which Samardzija can be moved, the Red Sox don’t seem likely to pursue a starter, while the Mets and A’s aren’t contending. The Angels are a fringe contender at best and have luxury tax concerns, while the Nationals are said to be more focused on relievers and may shy away from the money remaining on his deal. It’s at least possible that one of the other teams listed shows some interest, but the Yankees are presently focused on Sonny Gray, while the Cubs have already added Jose Quintana and the Dodgers have been most heavily linked to Yu Darvish (to say nothing of the longstanding Dodgers/Giants division rivalry).

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