How should the White Sox go about trading Jeff Samardzija?
By Brian Draus
The wheeling and dealing has starting around major league baseball. Scott Kazmir was the first major name moved in July, as he was shipped from the Oakland Athletics to the Houston Astros.
Will there be more key players dealt and how will it affect the White Sox?
As I have previously stated, Jeff Samardzija is more than likely on his way out of town. The problem for the Sox is this: with so many pitchers on the market, how do they get fair value for him in return?
Considering that David Price, Cole Hamels, Johnny Cueto, and others are on the market, it will not be easy to find a suitor willing to give the White Sox what they want in return for Samardzija.
One way is for the White Sox to hold on to Samardzija as long as they can. For example, hang on to him as close to the July 31st, 4PM deadline as possible. The problem with that is other pitchers may not be moved until that day as well, and putting a deal together in just a few hours isn’t easy.
While the return for Samardzija could potentially be greater, there is also a good chance the White Sox run the risk of losing suitors.
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Another way is to quickly trade Samardzija. This has the opposite benefits and the opposite drawbacks considering that there are more suitors left and more suitors to negotiate with. At the same time because it is earlier in the process, there are also more options for the suitors.
Since Samardzija is not as valuable as the others on the market, it will be hard for the White Sox to get a big time prospect in return. They may get some good ones, but I wouldn’t expect a superstar in the making.
All in all, it is hard to know exactly which is the best way to go. The White Sox have already made one move before the deadline trading third baseman Conor Gillaspie to the Los Angeles Angels for cash considerations. It will be interesting to see the next move they make.
Hopefully they can get a good haul for Samardzija, considering he is far and away their best trade chip. Who it will be and what team they will come from is to be determined. Whatever ends up happens, this this should be an extremely active week throughout the game in trades.