Levine: Jeff Samardzija Ready To Get Off To Fast Start
By Bruce Levine-
(CBS) You may believe the White Sox offense or defense will be the key element in the team's 2015 quest for postseason baseball, and both areas are important. But ultimately, pitching will rule in the American League Central. With that in mind, no addition should have more impact for Chicago than the acquisition of right-hander Jeff Samardzija.
Samardzija gives the White Sox a real chance to go into a series with three dominant pitchers. If they choose, the White Sox can line up Chris Sale, Jose Quintana and Samardzija in important series.
Chicago general manager Rick Hahn began working on a trade for Samardzija in late October and culminated the deal at the winter meetings in December. Adding a third starting pitcher with ace potential was the most significant move by the White Sox this off season.
Samardzija will hit the mound at a minicamp this week in Glendale, Ariz., for the first time since his Oakland Athletics were eliminated in the wild-card game last October.
"It's great to see this place (Camelback Ranch) and get use to the new surroundings," he said last week. "I am looking forward to getting back on the mound and getting some of these couch pounds off."
With Sale, Quintana and Samardzija, the White Sox's top three starters can rival that of any team's in the majors. Samardzija continues to add to his pitching skill set each season, and suffering from a lack of run support hasn't hurt his reputation as one of the top power pitchers in the game.
Looking at the strikeout-walk ratio for Samardzija, you get the impression that he's getting better and understanding different pitching nuances more than ever. Compared to 2013, he had 35 fewer walks in 2014 while throwing six more innings. Samardzija averaged 8.3 strikeouts compared to 1.8 walks per nine innings last season, a 4.6-to-1 strikeout-to-walk ratio. Learning to take a little off of his fastball while not becoming as predicable with his cut fastball has been an impressive part of Samardzija's growth as a major league starter.
Samardzija's contract is set to expire at the end of the 2015 season, and signing him to an extension won't be an easy task. The White Sox had meetings with Samardzija's agent at the GM meetings in Phoenix in November, and the Athletics had granted the White Sox permission to try and work out a long-term contract before the trade was made.
With a good year on what appears to be a playoff-caliber team, Samardzija will be in line for $20 million- $25 million a year if he becomes a free agent in November.
This season, Samardzijawill make between $10 million to $12 million in his last year of arbitration eligibility.
Bruce Levine covers the Cubs and White Sox for 670 The Score and CBSChicago.com. Follow him on Twitter @MLBBruceLevine.
