Samardzija has sights set on starting role with Cubs
MESA, Ariz. - For years, Jeff Samardzija knew he'd have to choose: football or baseball? Now that he has, a more common question is: starter or reliever?
The former Notre Dame football and baseball star, starting his third big-league camp with the Chicago Cubs, was placed in the Cubs bullpen at the end of July after 21 starts in Triple-A Iowa and Double-A Tennessee.
He finished the regular season 1-0 with a 2.28 ERA in nearly 27 2/3 innings in 26 games. He allowed 24 hits, struck out 25 and walked 15.
"That was proof that everything I am doing has me on the right path," said Samardzija, who was 7-6 with a 4.29 ERA overall in the minors in 2008. "I got a feel of what the major league level is and that half a year's experience makes all of the difference."
Samardzija, 24, enters spring training with a chance to compete with left-hander Sean Marshall for the fifth spot in the rotation, but if the Cubs go with Marshall it doesn't mean Samardzija would end up in Iowa's rotation.
After showing a comfort level in the bullpen last season, Samardzija could end up as one of the right-handed options in this team's most unsettled areas.
It leaves the 6-foot-5, 218-pounder with another quandary in his athletic career, one he is willing to let play out on its own.
"Once we get out on the field we will see how things shake down," Samardzija said. "I want to start, and if I come in ready to start I can adapt to whatever they need."
For now, he is being stretched out at the beginning of camp to be a starter, something manager Lou Piniella believes won't be a problem for the former All-American wide receiver.
"Obviously, he can make the jump," Piniella said. "He will get an opportunity to start. We like his arm, the way he competes and he's come a very long way in a short period of time."
Samardzija was told early in the offseason, which he spent mostly in Chicago, that he would likely return to the starting role.
"I did everything to get my body in shape to throw a lot of pitches," he said.
"Last year when I got up (to the big leagues) I kind of let my change-up go and went with my splitty (split-finger) and slider. It's a matter of getting a feel for it again and having the confidence to throw it whenever I want."
While it will probably be more than a month before Samardzija knows where he'll end up, Piniella said baseball is where the 2006 fifth-round draft pick belongs.
"I think he made the right decision," Piniella said. "He's only been in our minor league system for a couple of years and he already had a taste of the big leagues, and he is going to get an opportunity this camp."