Orioles "Appear to be the Leading team of interest" to Get Samardzija

[joedogg9999]

Even if he continues to pitch to a ~3.00 FIP it's hard to imagine him being worth more than 3-4 wins over the remaining 2/3rds of the season. So if the O's are a .500 team now, they're an 84 or 85 win team with an overachieving Samardzija. If he regresses to the 4.00+ ERA guy he's been previously (say, three months ago) then he's probably less than a win better than the O's collection of 4th starters.

His k/9 is slightly down but his era is significantly down. I think that shows a change in approach, rather than pure luck sure to wear off. Obviously he wont be a sub 2 era guy for the entire year but I also think its premature to assume he will just regress back to 4.00 era suddenly.

[justice98]

Definitely buying high on Samardzjia, they should pass on this pursuit.

[joedogg9999]

His bb/9 and hr/9 are also significantly down. It seems like he has adjusted his approach slightly to favor more control rather than K'ing everyone. Besides, which one of our top pitching prospects has a 95-96 mph fastball with rediculous movement?

[JDadd]

Definitely buying high on Samardzjia, they should pass on this pursuit.

I just don't think this is the guy...I don't feel comfortable giving up those arms for Samardjia so I agree with a pass on this one.

[SticksandStones]

http://www.mlbdailydish.com/2014/5/28/5756912/jeff-samardzija-trade-rumors-orioles-cubs-bundy-harvey-rodriguez

More sources indicating this is moving forward.

[mdbdotcom]

http://www.mlbdailydish.com/2014/5/28/5756912/jeff-samardzija-trade-rumors-orioles-cubs-bundy-harvey-rodriguez

More sources indicating this is moving forward.

Not really, they're just quoting the source article. Nothing new.

[Redskins Rick]

Not really, they're just quoting the source article. Nothing new.

Just a matter of waiting for Birdland to post the tweet where they announce the trade.

[Tryptamine]

His k/9 is slightly down but his era is significantly down. I think that shows a change in approach, rather than pure luck sure to wear off. Obviously he wont be a sub 2 era guy for the entire year but I also think its premature to assume he will just regress back to 4.00 era suddenly.

You are right, he has substantially changed his approach. Samardzija is intentionally pitching to more contact this year so that he can go deeper into games. His out pitch was primarily his split finger pitch, but he has stopped throwing it as much in favor of a two seam fastball which induces a lot of weak contact. That's why his K rate is down, it's not a matter of lost stuff, but of choosing to be more efficient so he can go deep into games.

[OriolesMagic83]

I just can't see giving up our top prospects for Samardzija. I see him as a good #2. Bundy and Gausman both have #2 potential, or even possible ace potential. And the package for Sam would require a couple of more good prospects. Also Samardzija (can we come up w/ a nickname for him, Sammy?), is a rental, and there's no way the O's sign him to a long term $20 mill/yr contract.

[foxfield]

I just can't see giving up our top prospects for Samardzija. I see him as a good #2. Bundy and Gausman both have #2 potential, or even possible ace potential. And the package for Sam would require a couple of more good prospects. Also Samardzija (can we come up w/ a nickname for him, Sammy?), is a rental, and there's no way the O's sign him to a long term $20 mill/yr contract.

Unless DD thinks our prospects are considerably overrated, we are not giving them up for this guy. And we do not need a nickname even if we get him. Im just gonna call him.......

Jeff

[Stotle]

I just can't see giving up our top prospects for Samardzija. I see him as a good #2. Bundy and Gausman both have #2 potential, or even possible ace potential. And the package for Sam would require a couple of more good prospects. Also Samardzija (can we come up w/ a nickname for him, Sammy?), is a rental, and there's no way the O's sign him to a long term $20 mill/yr contract.

Since school his nickname has been Shark.

[VeveJones007]

See thoughts above.

To expand on the Baez sentiment, Castro doesn't have the type of disciplined plate approach that Epstein and Co. value. That plus league average or worse defense at the most important position on the diamond makes him expendable in their eyes.

[joedogg9999]

I just can't see giving up our top prospects for Samardzija. I see him as a good #2. Bundy and Gausman both have #2 potential, or even possible ace potential. And the package for Sam would require a couple of more good prospects. Also Samardzija (can we come up w/ a nickname for him, Sammy?), is a rental, and there's no way the O's sign him to a long term $20 mill/yr contract.

Key word is potential. The likelyhood of either of those guys fully rraching their potential is fairly slim. Why in the world should be risk that when you can get a guy who is already exceeding that? As I said before, the only reason why this shouldnt be a no-brainer is the fact hes only got 1.5 years left on his contract. Even so, it should still be done considering all of pur best players are due to be FAs before or at the same time Jeffs contract is up and the fact that the AL east is having an uncharacteristically off year. The window is closing, the stars are aligning, and the iron is hot to strike right now. Realistically, the Os do not have 4 years to wait for Bundy or Gausman to get close to wait Jeff is doing right now.

[Stotle]

To expand on the Baez sentiment, Castro doesn't have the type of disciplined plate approach that Epstein and Co. value. That plus league average or worse defense at the most important position on the diamond makes him expendable in their eyes.

Neither does Beaz. And Baez is much more likely to bring in the piece they need.

[DoubleStufOriole]

I admittedly haven't gone back through every page of this thread so I apologize if this has already been posted, but someone on MLB Trade Rumors' page just suggested that a deal of E. Rodriguez, M. Gonzalez, one of the two catching prospects (Sisco or Ohlman) and Christian Walker is a fair deal that could pry Samardzija from the Cubs.

If that's all it took, and we could keep Bundy, Gausman and Harvey, I would approve of that trade.