Jeff Samardzija Heading Back to the Bay Area?

In the Bay Area, there is already a shark there occupying the San Francisco Giants roster: the “White Shark” Gregor Blanco. After rumors surfacing on Monday, another shark is being discussed into the Bay Area. Or should I say, back to the Bay Area.

According to CSN Chicago, the Giants have “checked in on Jeff Samardzija, though they have reportedly cast a wide net in the search for a No. 2 starter behind Madison Bumgarner.”

Giants have also been thrown around in the David Price and Cole Hamels talks as well. But is this all a gimmick?

Samardzija was in the area just a year ago with the Oakland A’s, after a mega-deal sent him over from the Chicago Cubs along with Jason Hammel, in exchange for super-prospect Addison Russell, and other pieces. In less than one full season in Oakland, Samardzija found his way out once again by the Billy Beane trade trigger.

Samardzija was sent back to the Windy City, only this time, to the Chicago White Sox. Samardzija must really like Chicago and the Bay Area, as he could find his way being traded back to the state of California for the second time in two seasons.

What is Samardzija worth?

If he is headed to the Giants, Samardzija would once again loom in the shadows of an ace of the staff, in Bumgarner. With the Cubs, he was essentially the ace for a team who had been in the cellar of the division for quite some time. When traded to Oakland, Samardzija was behind another acquired played in Jon Lester. In the offseason, when the A’s completed a trade with the White Sox, Samardzija would once again be behind an ace and one of the game’s best, Chris Sale.

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Samardzija is an interesting player.

The super athlete from Notre Dame, Samardzija chose baseball over football, where he too could have succeeded in the NFL, had he had gone the football route. He was an All-American wide receiver for the Fighting Irish. Samardzija chose baseball, and found himself up in the Cubs’ organization rather quickly.

Starting out as a reliever, Samardzija transitioned into a starter due to the need of rotation help. From there, with his mid to high-90’s fastball and solid slider, he secured a spot in the rotation and gained attention.

In 2014, Samardzija was having a magical year with the Cubs, but received a poor effort from the Cubs hitters. Samardzija was posting ace-like numbers with a record that did not reflect his play. As a result, the Cubs posted him as an ace and received nice young pieces for the future.

When Samardzija was posted by the A’s in the deal with the White Sox, Samardzija was valued highly in that deal as well.

In 2015, the White Sox were expected to compete in the AL Central and possibly slide into the playoffs after an offseason of trading and spending. That has not panned out well for the White Sox, and they appear to be in sell mode.

With Samardzija gaining interest and supposedly being put on the trade market once again, what could possibly be wrong?

Certainly, it may not be something Samardzija is doing wrong, and he has just been on teams that have under-performed. When being traded, Samardzija was highly inconsistent, since both his last teams have been in the hitter-friendly league. In the National League with the Cubs, numbers can tend to be inflated for pitchers due to seeing the pitcher bat, and essentially almost guaranteeing an out.

The American League has been a challenge for Samardzija, but lately has shaped up his game and has increased his value. Currently on the year, Samardzija has pitched on average seven innings per game (140.1 innings over 20 starts), and posted a record of 7-5 with a 3.91 ERA, 1.19 WHIP, and 108 strikeouts.