Jeff Samardzija rumors: Dodgers, Cubs talked trade

Over the course of the past few months, multiple teams including the Toronto Blue Jays, Seattle Mariners and San Francisco Giants were linked to potential trades for former Chicago Cubs ace, Jeff Samardzija. Of course, a shocking July 4th trade sent the All-Star pitcher to the Oakland A’s, a team few (if any) expected to acquire the talented arm.

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A handful of teams were said to be in talks with the Cubs in effort to trade for Jeff Samardzija before the deal with the Athletics, including the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Already anchored by what is likely the best starting pitching staff in the baseball, it sounds as if the Los Angeles Dodgers were going big or going home as they attempted to acquire Samardzija before the Athletics. However, the Cubs appeared to be insistent on either Joc Pederson or Corey Seager, two of the Dodgers top prospects.

Not wanting to mortgage their future the Dodgers decided not to push for a deal and the talks seemingly ended there.

Such a decision was likely a difficult one as adding Jeff Samardzija to a rotation which includes Clayton Kershaw and Zack Grienke would have been a deadly combination for opposing teams and would have instantly made the Dodgers the favorite moving forward. Of course, it came with a very steep price and losing Pederson or Seager, two players who are likely to have long futures with the organization wasn’t worth it to general manager Ned Colletti.

I guess we’ll see how smart of a decision that was come October.