Neither White Sox, A's benefit much from Samardzija trade
When the trade was made, the White Sox envisioned Jeff Samardzija being a perfect fit as their No. 2 starting pitcher and having a dominant season.
They envisioned Samardzija helping the revamped Sox' roster make it to the playoffs, and they felt very good about keeping the local boy off the free-agent market with a contract extension.
As the regular season heads into its final week, the White Sox and Samardzija are not looking good.
Not only is a third straight losing season nearly in the books, Samardzija has been a major disappointment.
The Merrillville, Ind., native is 10-13 with a 5.04 ERA in 31 starts, and Samardzija leads American League pitchers with 220 hits allowed.
While he is 99.9 percent guaranteed to be wearing a different uniform next season, Samardzija did not cost the Sox all that much in the Dec. 9 trade with the A's.
In exchange for Samardzija and minor-league pitcher Michael Ynoa, the White Sox sent infielder Marcus Semien, catcher Josh Phegley, starting pitcher Chris Bassitt and minor-league first baseman Rangel Ravelo to Oakland.
Semien was the best player of the bunch, but he has been a defensive disaster at shortstop. Heading into Saturday's play, Semien had 34 errors, the most in the major leagues.
A .256/.308/.395 hitting line with 13 home runs and 42 RBI indicates Semien is also having an off season with the bat, but A's manager Bob Melvin is optimistic about his future.
“Marcus is our everyday shortstop,” Melvin said when the Athletics were at U.S. Cellular Field on the White Sox' last homestand. “We all know he has the ability to do it, and he's showing more consistency. He just looks more confident, and I think success breeds confidence.”
Phegley just never seemed to fit in with the Sox, even though they still have a hole at catcher.
With the A's, he's been Stephen Vogt's primary backup, but the right-handed hitting Phegley has struggled against right-handed pitching (. 220 batting average).
“He's done some damage against right-handed pitching, sometimes,” Melvin said. “He's always prepared as far as the work he does, scouting report stuff for the other team and now he's getting a little bit more of a significant chance to play on an everyday basis.
“I don't know how much more we could've expected out of him. We were just looking for him against left-handed pitching and he's proven to be more than that.”
Bassitt has battled some shoulder discomfort while going 1-7 with a 3.07 ERA in 16 games (11 starts).
“It's tough to say what the expectations were, because he was, for the most part, probably our sixth or seventh guy when we started the season,” Melvin said. “We've gotten to take a longer look at him and he's really been good. He's got a tenacity to him. He wants to be out there, he wants to be out there when the game's on the line, and it's been really nice to see.”