We have made the comparison of Jeff Samardzija to Galvin Floyd.
In seven seasons with the White Sox, Gavin Floyd was either
underrated or overrated, depending on who you asked. Now, those debates
-- and Floyd -- are off to Atlanta, with the soon-to-be 31-year-old
signing a one-year deal with the Braves for approximately $4 million plus incentives.
It pays to be a consistent major league pitcher. Floyd was never flashy or a flash-in-the pan. He fits into the #3-#4 arm in a rotation.
The right-hander flashed no-hit potential on a few occasions, and
would go months looking unhittable. Those stretches went hand-in-hand
with Floyd having good command on his fastball and snapping off his
devastating 12-6 curveball to rack up strikeouts.
But on a game-by-game basis, consistency and control eluded Floyd
throughout his career with the White Sox. It's why, on a
season-by-season basis, Floyd actually was fairly consistent: after
posting a 3.84 ERA in 2008, Floyd never had an ERA lower than 4.06 or
higher than 4.37 from 2009-2012.
"You can see him throw seven, eight innings of no-hit caliber ball,
and then there will be some shorter outings where he gets blown up a
little bit," general manager Rick Hahn said before last season. "When
you have that kind of stuff, when you have the ability to throw that
length of shutout and quality outings, we know that's in there."
Floyd underwent Tommy John surgery in early May of last season,
ending any chance of a big season in the final year of his contract with
the White Sox. A 14-to-19-month timetable was given for his recovery,
though Floyd expects to pitch in the majors by May of 2014, according to
ESPN.com.
Floyd's career numbers are similar to Samardzija's. However, Samardzija has been pitching in the #1 rotation slot by necessity, so some people get confused that he is an "ace" starter. With the rumor that Samardzija was going to sign a $55 million extension with the Cubs (which failed to disclose number of years), begs the question whether Samardzija is worth three times more than Floyd. Apparently not, since the Braves, who had interest in Samardzija, did not facilitate a trade with the Cubs at the Winter Meetings.
