San Francisco Giants Trade Deadline: Samardzija Impressive in Final Showcase

Jeff Samardzija was very impressive in his final showcase game with the San Francisco Giants before the MLB trade deadline on July 31.

There has been some interest in the right-handed starting pitcher the past week. Most notably from the Houston Astros, but he has veto power on all but eight teams.

The only teams the San Francisco Giants can trade him to without his consent is the Boston Red Sox, Chicago Cubs, New York Mets, New York Yankees, Los Angeles Angels, Los Angeles Dodgers, Oakland Athletics and Washington Nationals.

He helped his case on Wednesday night by giving up just 1 run on 4 hits and 2 walks over 7 innings with 8 strikeouts.

His overall numbers on the season still don’t look great with a 4.85 ERA and a 5-11 record. But he’s striking out over a batter an inning and has a very good WHIP of 1.18.

Samardzija carries a pretty expensive contract as he’s owed $19.8 million over the next three years and probably around $8 million this year.

The San Francisco Giants would probably have to eat $6-8 million of that to get anything significant in return.

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And there is no reason to trade Samardzija unless you get something worth it back.

He’s 32-years-old and will be 33 at the beginning of next year, so he’s coming out of his prime years. I think the San Francisco Giants should definitely see what they can get for Samardzija.

Fortunately, just about everyone he can be traded to without his consent is a contender. Everyone is waiting to see what happens with Sonny Gray, but Samardzija could be a fall back options for teams who miss out.

Samardzija has made it known that he’d veto almost any trade to a team in his no-trade clause. He apparently loves being in San Francisco and thinks this team can turn it around next year.

Next: San Francisco Giants: 5 trades to make before Monday’s deadline

Good for him, but I’m not in that boat. If teams are desperate enough for a middle-to-top of the rotation starter, the Giants need to move him before Monday.