Saturday, December 5, 2015

Hot Stove Update: Giants Sign Jeff Samardzija

The Giants moved quickly to stop the bleeding after losing out in the Zack Greinke sweepstakes.  The next tier consisted of Johhny Cueto, Samardzija, Mike Leake and possibly Wei-Yin Chen.  With Grienke signed with a division rival, but not the Dodgers, and the Dodgers likely even more desperate to cover the loss of one of their prized aces, it was imperative the Giants get the drop on the Bad Guys and get one of those second tier guys signed.  Don't forget, the D'Backs are still making noise about Leake, the Yankees are thought to be nearly desperate for pitching as are the Cardinals and Cubs.  Once the first second tier guy went off the board, the others could fall fast.

The Giants jumped on Samardzija AKA Shark for 5 years/$90 M.  The first season is for $9 M with 4 subsequent seasons at 18 M apiece.  There is a $3 M upfront bonus and another $6 M bonus spread out equally over the final 4 seasons.  There are no deferred payments.  There is a partial no trade clause with 8 teams allowed on the list.  I am a bit confused as to what the benefit of the low first year salary is.  The Giants seem to have plenty of cashish, but are reluctant to cross the Luxury Tax Threshold, but the Luxury Tax is calculated by the AAV of the contract which is not helped by the backloading.  Anyway, I'll let someone else worry about that.  Bottom line is they get a pitcher they have been interested in for years at a total price of less than half of what the D'Backs are paying Greinke.  The Giants clearly have the financial wherewithal, Luxury Tax cap or no cap, to sign another second tier guy or else a lower tier pitcher plus a top tier OF.

I've always like Jeff Samardzija.  I remember watching him pitch against the Giants on TV when he was with the Cubs and thinking how great a fit he would be in the Giants rotation.  He is coming off a down season with the White Sox.  I am not going to list his stats here.  You can look them up on Fangraphs or mlb.com.  I will just mention a few things which may help calm your fears that last season may be the beginning of a slide into oblivion:

1.  Last year, Samardzija pitched half his games in a bandbox ballpark and he pitched all of his games in front of a horrific defensive team.  Thanks to Shankbone for linking to a Fangraphs article by Tony Blengino showing statistical evidence that those two factors cost him a full run in ERA.

2.  It was rather striking that Samardzija's use of his two seam FB declined precipitously with a corresponding rise in the use of his cutter.  Not sure what that is all about, but the Giants generally encourage their pitchers to command both sides of the plate with the FB, and Rags is knows as something of a cutter guru.  I think there is a good chance they will be able to "fix" whatever went wrong there last year.

3.  Samardzia's FB velocity remained very stable at just over 94 MPH last year so there is no indication of any drop off in FB velocity.

In addition to the above 3 points, despite entering his age 31 season, Samardzija has relatively little mileage on his arm having pitched slightly fewer innings than Mike Leake who is 2 years younger, and less than half of Greinke's innings who is just one year older.

I like the signing.  There are risks to any FA contract, especially for pitchers, but there is every indication that this is actually a buy-low opportunity that the Giants jumped on, finally beating out their competitors and getting what could be a bargain in the process.

The one big downside is losing the 2016 first round draft pick, but it was probably unrealistic to think they were going to hang onto that give the situation this offseason.

21 comments:

  1. So which would prefer, signing Ben Zobrist or signing another pitcher?

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    1. Pitcher. Zobrist would be luxury. If they get a position player, I'd rather it be someone who can D it up in CF.

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    2. How would you like a guy like Dexter Fowler? He can play any of the OF positions. Pretty good D, speed on the bases and quite a bit more power than Pagan. Plus, he would not cost us 9 figures. Since training with Bonds he has stepped up his career.

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    3. Personally, I like the idea of trying to sign a big bat for left field and then trading for a pitcher. Something like signing Alex Gordon for 5/$110 and then trade Panik and Heston for Shelby Miller.

      Pagan/Blanco
      Duffy
      Posey
      Pence
      Belt
      Gordon
      Crawford
      Tomlinson

      Bumgarner
      Samardzija
      Miller
      Peavy
      Cain

      That seems like a team that can compete for a title. It would sure hurt to lose Panik, but I think Arroyo might be ready by '17 and if a trade is going to be fair it has to hurt both sides a little.

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    4. Giants want to trade prospects, not people off 25 man roster. Highly doubt they can land Miller. Price is too high and want MLB talent. I wouldn't mind Gordon on a 4 year deal but I think a 5 or 6 year deal can turn out very bad with him.

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  2. FWIW, I'm much happier with this signing than I would have been with Greinke who was a definite 3rd on my list of the Top-3 and not somebody I would piad this kind of money tp over 6 years...

    Hopefully we can pull in one more good pitcher and shore up the outfield a bit.

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  3. I'd still like to add Leake to the rotation, which is still possible with this move. He just 'fits' as a Giant.
    And a centerfielder. Sorry, but I have no faith in Pagan returning to health for a full season. Maybe even 2 outfielders, so we can give Mac/Parker time to develop. And a pony, while I'm making a wish list.
    Looks like a good move in the current market. Can't really see Zobrist as a good investment...he's a really good player, but he really doesn't fill any particular need on the team, and he's going to cost a bundle. Just my opinion, of course.

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    1. Parker is developed. He's either a major leaguer or he's not.

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  4. I like him. Feel good about this one. These numbers are crazy, but he put up the WAR to be close. One thing I just did was check out the rest of the Chicago White Sox staff. They have some very nice pitchers. Sharks, Danks, Sale and Quintana took the ball every time, and Rodon in the wings pitched well in 23 starts. The other pitchers had pretty neutral home/road splits. Shark definitely got rocked at home. Too tired to look very close at it, but I do think that narrative should be put to the test some by looking at the rest of the White Sox staff. I'm buying it some right now though.

    I think this is an unknown, he is hard to project, and there is some serious upside to go along with the considerable risk. He will most likely be better than the old warhorses that got trotted out last year, so its an improvement.

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  5. 6 years of Greinke is apparently worth 5 of Zimmermann and Samardzija combined

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  6. It's worth noting that in a down year Samardija ran up 2.7 fWAR, putting him in the top 40 pitchers in the majors, pretty much on a par with Chen and "King" Felix Hernandez, and only .3 fWAR behind Zimmermann, whom many fans coveted. If the Giants' spacious park, great defense, great catcher, and shrewd pitching coach can bring him a couple of steps closer to the kind of pitcher he has the stuff to be, we will have a superb No. 2.

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  7. Here's another reason to like Shark: He chose the Giants over LA who was runner-up

    AJ

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    1. You have to love players who choose to play in SF besides the money. I am sure the Dodgers could have outbid us. Jeff seems like a good character guy.

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  8. I like this signing/contract ..He just seems like a pitcher tailor made for the Giants way, the Giants D, the ballpark, and the National league..I expect a huge turn return this coming season...Still makes it possible to get both another good starter and an impact bat in the OF, even if one of the acquisitions may have to be via trade (Susac, Arroyo, Tomlinson (especially if you get Zobrist), pitchers)...The next week should be interesting, I hope they just don't wait on ZOBRIST, who I like, but who says he may make decision by the end of the meetings.

    SteveVA

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  9. Of the second tier of starting pitchers available, Shark has the highest upside. We have likely seen the best of Leake, Kazmir, Chen (each of whom I would be happy to see with the Giants as well) and while they are more consistent year to year, you know what you are getting with them. It seems the Giants have invested in the Shark's potential. There have been stretches when he has pitched like a strong SP2 at his best, while the other Tier 2 free agents are more likely solid SP2 at best, but more likely low end SP2. These are just my opinions of course, based on fantasy baseball experience. But back to the real world, the Giants have placed a bet on Shark's upside, and while it is a bit of a gamble, I think it is a safer investment than Cueto, who would have cost a lot more and has more injury concerns attached. While I don't like losing a draft pick, the Giants have shown themselves to be savvy in the draft, so losing their first round pick may not be as serious a loss as we think.

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  10. The Giants have been really stealth so far. Nobody is quite clear what they are doing next because they have put feelers out on so many people. Zobrist is coming for a visit soon. I would not surprised if they signed a SP like Leake or a OF like Upton. However, I am thinking they will sign/trade for a lower tier guy in LF. Shelby Miller would be a nice SP to trade for but his price tag is ridiculously high. They would want Panik plus top prospects to start the conversation. Indians apparently wanted Belt and Panik for Carrasco so thats not happening. No matter which way they go the Dodgers are running out of time. I see a desperate move coming from them soon even if it costs them an everyday player such as Pederson or Puig. So far they have Kershaw, Wood and Anderson for next year. Ryu and McCarthy are coming off of serious injuries and are wild cards. Hopefully a team will grab Cueto before they do. I am thinking if we bite the bullet and sign Leake they would have to make some serious moves to match our starting three of Bumgarner, Samardzija and Leake. Either way the Giants are looking better and better for 2016.

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  11. I'm thinking the Giants will stand pat on pitching. Peavy was pretty strong at the end of the year. While Cain is a wild card, he's still on the staff and you've got a guy who threw a no hitter and a very young pitcher who won the ERA title batting for the 5h. I'm not saying Leake wouldn't be a good signing. But I think we are on the verge of ushering in younger guys and they may want to avoid tying up money and a spot if they feel they have enough this year.

    The way I see it, your starting five is Bum, Shark, Peavy, Cain and the winner of Blackburn and Heston for 5th. I think Giants reward Heston unless he has a bad spring, and Blackburn is the new Petit until someone else fails and that gives him a chance to mature.

    Assuming Blackburn is the real deal and no worse than a 4/5, you have Bumgarner, Shark, [Peavy], Blackburn, [?} by end of season. Hopefully, Cain is that ?. You have the Meija and Beede poised to take over for Peavy at the end of the year, and maybe Cain if he also falters. And you still have Heston too (who ultimately could become a tradeable asset if Cain comes back strong].

    I am not sure what to do about OF. I like Parker but am worried he was a flash in the pants given his age. I love Mac and think they'll go quietly to try to fill LF, but don't know about CF.

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    1. Blackburn will not be in rotation unless an injury occurs or a mid to late season callup. The Giants MO would be to get someone like Fister or Haren on a one year deal before starting a rookie in the rotation. Not going to happen.

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  12. Hisashi Iwakuma on a 3 year deal to Dodgers. No fear when reading that statement. This will cover his age 35-37 seasons. His fastball has dropped from 90.2 in 2012 to 88.9 last year. He has only pitched over 200 innings once in MLB career. I think this is a blessing if he is the signing instead of Cueto, Leake, etc. Not to say they won't sign another SP but their rotation is not as good as Giants as of today.

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  13. Shark has the potential to be the next Jake Arrieta if things go well. 90 Million is a lot for potential but if he comes anywhere near Arrieta he will end up earning his money. At the very least I think he has a greater chance of playing up to his contract than Grienke does. Max Scherzer didn't reach his full potential until getting traded to Detroit and Jason Schmidt wasn't very good before he came to AT&T so I have faith in Rags, our defense, and the ballpark and am pretty excited to see what moves are next. Gordon in LF and Kazmir/Buerle/Lee? to round out the rotation would be a nice way to finish this offseason.

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