There is another rumor of a Jeff Samardzija trade destination. The Diamondbacks are the featured team which had interest in the Shark last season.
Samardizja was on WGN Radio and said:
"I think the only thing with me signing a contract is winning
ballgames and competing and playing in October," Samardzija said.
"That's it. This game, a lot of other things get talked about, but when
you talk about stability and this and that, let's be honest. We play
baseball, so we travel a lot regardless. Necessarily where you're
playing isn't going to be where you are all the time. Teams change,
things change. And money's always going to be there if you do your job
and you do it how you're supposed to do it, you're a leader and you're a
professional. Those two things are null and void. It's about winning.
Period. It's about being on a team that wins. Obviously that's what this
organization wants to do.
"There's no reason why that can't be the Cubs. And that's what I've
been saying this whole time. This is where I want to be. I grew up here.
For me to say I want to be somewhere else is ridiculous. That's not the
case, I want it to happen here, and it needs to happen here. It's about
that time. I think everybody wants it and I think everyone is dying for
it just as bad as I am."
It is not a secret that Samardzija has been upset with how the front office has operated the last two years, boosting that they have traded away 40 percent of the starting rotation for quality prospects. But prospects in the low minors does not help Samardzija win in the majors today. Look at the pitching fraternity that has left the Cubs in recent years: Dempster, Garza, Maholm, Feldman. That is respectable a starting rotation.
Even a pitching ace, on his best day, needs help from his teammates in order to win; from scoring runs to the bullpen holding the lead. Samardzija is a smart guy; he realizes that the Cubs team has been moving backward and not forward at the major league level. This will impact his value going forward in three years when he is a free agent. That is why he continues to stress "wins" as the sole barometer of success. He knows the realization is that the Cubs are not going to win very many games in the next few years.
As a professional who has been in winning team cultures like Notre Dame, it appears that Samardzija is not buying into the alleged transparency of the Plan to rebuild the team through the minor league talent acquired from trading veterans. Samardzija had some hit and miss years after he signed his big money first deal with the Cubs. It was only when they stopped moving him around and let him concentrate on being a starter has Samardzija became a consistent presence on the mound.
Samardzija knows that the Cubs control his fate. He seems to be resigned to the fact that he is probably one of the most valuable trade assets on the major league roster. As the post season showed us, pitching is still a premium. If a team is interested in Samardzija, he should not be off limits. However, the Cubs really need to focus in on major league ready talent in exchange.
