Sox Land Samardzija, Robertson
By Benjy Lipsman in News on Dec 9, 2014 4:30PM
While the Cubs try to lure Jon Lester from Oakland to the North Side, the White Sox are hot on the heels of a former Cubs ace. The South Siders have apparently landed Jeff Samardzija from the Oakand A's in a trade.
Samardzija was just 7-13 in 2014, but had a stellar 2.99 ERA and 202 strikeouts in 219.2 innings pitched. The righthander is 36-48 with a 3.85 ERA for his career, all spent with the Cubs until his mid-season trade to the A's.
In return for Samardzija, Oakland will receive infielder Marcus Semien, pitching prospect Chris Bassitt and another prospect. Rumors earlier this offseason suggested the Sox were shopping shortstop Alexei Ramirez, but Oakland appears more interested in youth to address its middle infield needs.
The addition of Samardzija to a rotation that already includes Chris Sale, Jose Quintana and John Danks gives the Sox a fairly solid corps of pitchers and adds a righty to the southpaw-heavy rotation.
David Robertson (Photo credit: Chris Karr/Getty Images)
Addressing their need for a proven closer, the South Siders have also reached a deal with Yankees closer David Robertson this morning. A free agent, Robertson has agreed to a 4-year, $46 million deal to leave the Bronx. Long the set-up guy for future Hall of Famer Mariano Riveria, Robertson stepped into the closer role in 2014. He saved 39 games with a 3.08 ERA for the Yankees, and was considered to be the top closer available this off-season.
The White Sox have already signed free agent slugger Adam LaRoche and relief pitcher Zach Duke since the start of free agency. GM Rick Hahn continues to methodically cross team needs off his shopping list in hopes of improving on the team's 73-89 record, boosting the team's payroll by about $35 million in 2015 in the process. It's once again an exciting time to be a White Sox fan!