Samardzija says he's open to coming back to Cubs

Jeff Samardzija is proving that you can go home again, at least for one baseball series.

Whether Samardzija eventually comes back to play in Chicago remains to be seen, but it's something he said he'll keep in mind.

"That is something that is absolutely on my list," he said Monday as a member of the Oakland Athletics, who are in town to play the White Sox. "I love it here. I've spent my whole life here. Even to come back is exciting, to see the same sights coming in from the airport, to stay downtown, it brings back a lot of memories."

Samardzija was a Cub from the time they drafted him in 2006 until team president Theo Epstein and general manager Jed Hoyer traded him to the Athletics just as the fireworks were going off on the Fourth of July.

It seemed almost jarring to see Samardzija in Oakland green and gold when he had been in Cubs blue all those years.

But he's finding out that change can be good. Most important, he got out of last place and is with a team that has struggled of late but one that is still well positioned for a wild-card spot in the American League.

"There's positives to a lot of things," he said. "Just in life in general, you get to try out new things and experience new places and new people. It's always fun and exciting. It's always good to see how you react as a person, and you grow, too.

"You realize you get comfortable in certain situations, and there are definitely areas to improve. When you get other opinions and other views, you can improve as a player and as a person. So it's been exciting. It's always about getting better. And sometimes when you go somewhere else, that can happen."

Samardzija emerged as the ace of the Cubs pitching staff, but with free agency coming after next season and the Cubs still in a rebuilding mode, they traded him and pitcher Jason Hammel to the A's for hot prospect Addison Russell, pitcher Dan Straily and outfield prospect Billy McKinney.

The deal came as no surprise to Samardzija.

"No, just because there was so much talk early," he said. "I think it would have been a surprise had there been no talk the whole time and then dropped on me. I had a good relationship with Theo and the whole front office. We were pretty open with each other in communication. I think we understood that if there was a deal they didn't like, nothing was going to happen."

With the Cubs, Samardzija was 2-7 with a 2.83 ERA. He often was the victim of no run support. He'll start against the White Sox on Wednesday. With the A's, he's 4-5 with a 3.70 ERA and a WHIP of 0.96.

The A's have him under control for one more year. After that, he could have a couple of dozen teams coming after him.

"Obviously, we're still over a year, a year and a month away from that," he said. "I think that's the goal as an athlete. For so long, you're always trying to impress. High school, college, professionally, you're always trying to impress the people you're playing for or being recruited by or scouted by. I think as an athlete, it's always fun to have those tables turned a little bit - you're being courted. You also get to pick the situation you feel is best for you."