Jeff Samardzija appears to be a hot topic as the off-season trade market opens for business.
The Nationals seem to be on the Shark hunt. The Diamondbacks inquired before July's deadline.
The Nationals are probably better suited for a Cub trade. And this would be an easy one: CF Denard Span and LHP Ian Krol for Samardzija.
Span, 29, hit .279, 20 SB and 2.4 WAR for the Nationals last season. He would upgrade the lead-off spot for the Cubs and roam centerfield for the next two years at $15.5 million.
Krol, 22, a local kid from Naperville, IL, pitched 32 games in relief going 2-1, 3.95 ERA, 1.311 WHIP. He could move into the 5th starter role like Travis Wood did a few seasons ago.
If the Cubs are going to trade a starter, the team needs to get back manageable starters in return. Span would be under team control through 2015 so he won't block any prospect's promotion. Krol is young enough to contribute long term to the pitching staff since the Cubs don't have any minor league starter ready to make a permanent starter assignment. (Kyle Hendricks is probably the closest, but he was in Class AA last season.)
A Diamondback trade would most likely return more low level prospects.
The 40 man Snake roster has Randall Delgado, a pitcher who was going to part of the Dempster to Atlanta deal that fell a part. The D-Backs also have ex-Cub Tony Campana or another small OF in Adam Eaton as possible trade chips. A Samardzija for Delgado and Eaton trade seems to be less upside than the Nationals one above.
The Diamondbacks also have some interest in OF Nate Schierholtz, who could be packaged with Samardzija or traded alone. Arizona has payroll limitations bearing down on 2014 so Schierholtz fits in their outfield rotation at a reasonable cost. The more the Cubs could package to the Diamondbacks, the more talent the team should receive in return.
The D-Backs are not parting with number one prospect, Archie Bradley. However, No.4 prospect, RHP Braden Shipley or No. 5 prospect, LHP David Holmberg would be interesting prospects. Shipley played in A ball while Holmberg excelled in AA.
Also add the Blue Jays to the mix. The team has signaled it wants to be more active in the trade market than the free agent market this off-season. The Jays have targeted need areas of starting pitching, catcher and second base.
