Jeff Samardzija, White Sox haven’t talked about contract extension

By Stanford Crissey | Mar 6, 2015

Feb 28, 2015; Glendale, AZ, USA; Chicago White Sox pitcher Jeff Samardzija poses for a portrait during photo day at Camelback Ranch. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports /

A free agent at the end of the season, Jeff Samardzija and the Chicago White Sox have yet to engage in talks for a contract extension.

It’s always a risk to give up a lot in a trade for a player, even a star player, who is on a one-year contract. There’s always the chance that after the year is up, you’ll be out both the assets you gave up for the player and the player himself.

Sometimes it’s worth it if your team is gearing up for a championship run. But if you’re trying to build something long-term, like the Chicago White Sox are, chances are you didn’t acquire Jeff Samardzija only for what he can provide the team this year. The Sox are going to want him around for a while.

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Despite that, CBS Sports’ Jon Heyman is now reporting that there have been no discussions of a contract extension between Samardzija and the White Sox.

“That hasn’t even been a topic of conversation,” Samardzija told Heyman. “We haven’t come close to crossing that bridge. We’re all working on getting the team where we want. That’s our main goal.”

Translation: I’m getting my money this winter.

For their part, the White Sox have not been quiet in their enthusiasm about Samardzija and their desire to bring him back.

“Whenever there’s a next deal with Jeff Samardzija, hopefully, it’s with the White Sox,” general manager Rick Hahn told CBS Sports. “The guy’s a competitor. He wants to win, and he’s a tireless worker who’s succeeded on the big stage. He’s a leader in the clubhouse, and a nice complement between Chris Sale and Jose Quintana.”

Despite yet another losing record in 2014 (7-13 overall), Samardzija is coming off the best season of his career, splitting time between the Chicago Cubs and the Oakland Athletics. In a career-high 219.2 innings of work, the right-hander posted a 2.99 ERA, a 3.20 FIP, an 8.3 K/9 rate, and reduced his walk rate by nearly half at 1.8 BB/9.

If we’ve learned anything from baseball’s recent history, it’s that this exclusive window teams have to negotiate contracts with their own players is extremely valuable, and if a player actually gets to free agency (which is becoming increasingly rare for the best players) without having signed an extension, odds are they’re not coming back.

Take this winter: there are no bigger fans of Pablo Sandoval than the Giants, but when he got out on the market, he was going to take the most money, wherever it came from. That’s how he ended up with $95 million and a Red Sox uniform.

So if Samardzija does leave, was the deal still worth it for Chicago? Heyman thinks it is, but I’d be skeptical. Honestly, it all depends, not so much on what Samardzija himself does, but how well the team does this year. If Samardzija has a great year but the team goes 81-81, they may wish they still had those prospects rather than the one year of mediocrity. But if they win 90 games, it’s an entirely different story. We’ll just have to wait and see.

Next: One reason every team can win the World Series

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