Yanks Go Yard
FanSided

New York Yankees Rumors: Is Jeff Samardzija The Perfect Fit?

By Jason Evans

facebooktwitterreddit

Fox Sports Ken Rosenthal had this to say on Chicago White Sox righty Jeff Samardzija per NJ.com.

"The White Sox aren’t selling yet, and the teams haven’t had any talks. But consider: The guy who signed Sam, former Cubs GM Jim Hendry, now works in the Yankees’ front office. Sam is the precisely the kind of personality that would play well in New York, and his wife is from the area. The Yankees could trade for him, and then gain the inside track on him before he becomes a free agent."

The New York Yankees have gotten guys on their contract year and helped them before. Just ask Brandon McCarthy. Samardzija’s hit rate is up and his strikeout rate is down. In fact, it’s down for the fourth straight season.

Per Fangraphs, his flyball rate is up seven percent from last year (37 from 30). His BABIP against is .323. His velcoity is down on all of his pitches. If you think Nathan Eovaldi gives up a lot of hits, Samardzija has given up even more. In fact, it leads the majors.

Even though Samardzija is just 30 years old, and played more college football than baseball, he may not be a guy that I would give a long term contract too if the Yankees were to acquire him.

The price tag could be too much as well. MLB.com’s Jim Duquette told NJ.com’s Brendan Kuty recently, that the price for Samardzija could be Luis Severino. If that’s the case, if I’m Brian Cashman, I hang up the phone immediately.

Samardzija could be the guy the Yankees end up with. Maybe it’s not for the price of Luis Severino. Maybe Larry Rothschild can help him.  But if the Yankees really want to trade for a starter, they have to evaluate if Samardzija is that guy. I’m not totally sold on that.

More from Yanks Go Yard

Home/Yankees Rumors