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MLB free agent predictions: Who should sign Jeff Samardzija?


whitesoxjr27

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If you want a fascinating list of names, explore the history of pitchers who led the league in earned runs. There are pitchers who should never have been put in that position. There are formerly great pitchers who never turned the corner. There are pitchers who had an abnormally awful season before rebounding the next year. And there are more than a couple of Hall of Famers.

 

One of the most common reasons for a pitcher to lead his league in earned runs is that he's too good to remove from the rotation. The pitcher throws a lot of innings and is generally competent, even though he's worse than usual. The Rays let James Shields work through his problems in 2010, and they were proven right. The Phillies had no choice but to keep A.J. Burnett in the rotation in 2014, but it turns out he wasn't brokAnd occasionally, there are bad pitchers who pitched bad and should feel bad.

 

Our job today is to figure out which category Jeff Samardzija falls into. Technically, it's not our job. It's the job of GMs around baseball, one of whom will convince the owner of his team to spend millions and millions of dollars. That money will be a down payment on promise and stuff. Fingers will be crossed. It's a fine line between clever and stupid, and the Samardzija contract is walking over that line.

http://www.sbnation.com/mlb/2015/11/10/970...jeff-samardzija

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Sounds like he was dealing with a mechanical flaw in the 2nd half that he finally worked out and showed some signs of being the guy we wanted for an entire season. But inconsistency seems to be his trademark, so anyone who signs him will be looking at flashes of brilliance and moments utter ineptitude.

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QUOTE (Lip Man 1 @ Nov 12, 2015 -> 10:55 AM)
Given what's gone on with the Cardinals pitching staff, that's where he needs to go.

 

The question is, would St. Louis, because of the circumstances, move away from their philosophy and aggressively go after free agent pitching.

 

Mark

 

I don;t think they have much choice. their starting rotation really took a hit. Lynn down for 2016, will Martinez be healthy? Is Wacha still the same pitcher? Top pitching prospect Alex Reyes out for suspension. Plus earlier this year, they signed a 15-year television rights extension with FOX Sports Midwest worth more than $1 billion. Given that Cubs and Pitts and a real threat and Cards are known for great pitching, I expect them to be aggressive for FA pitching this year. As far as moving away from their philosophy , they have in the past when needed. Here are a few examples. Granted these numbers are not big, but they were significant at the years they were spent.

Jason Isringhausen — $27 million, 4 years (Dec. ’01)

Jake Westbrook — $16.5 million, 2 years (Nov. ’10)

Andy Benes — $16 million, 3 years (Jan. ’00)

Woody Williams — $14.9 million, 2 years (Nov. ’02)

Braden Looper — $13.5 million, 3 years (Dec. ’05)

Mark Mulder — $11.5 million, 2 years (Nov. ’07)

Would LOVE to see Greinke with the cards, but doubt they will go that nuts. But with the TV contract...and given Cubs have deep pockets and are a real threat......you never know.

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QUOTE (OmarComing25 @ Nov 12, 2015 -> 09:24 AM)
He was bad for us, but seriously? I would be actually be surprised if he didn't end up being pretty good next season for some NL team.

He was terrible for the Chicago White Sox in 2015. I don't care what he does next season or the season after that with another team.

 

He was awful on the Sox and that's all I care about.

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QUOTE (ChiSoxFanMike @ Nov 12, 2015 -> 12:27 PM)
He was terrible for the Chicago White Sox in 2015. I don't care what he does next season or the season after that with another team.

 

He was awful on the Sox and that's all I care about.

 

 

Actually we might if he ends up in AL central division or Wrigley

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He will get some longer term offers, but I could easily see where he makes the decision to bet on himself and be able to make a lot more money. Then again, you put a 2nd poor year in and that longer term deal is gone. The sad thing is, it seems that a major driver for him not taking the offer is he had a lot of issues with the White Sox. All players are different, but given he didn't have a history of issues with two different organizations, it makes you wonder about the health of the Sox culture.

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