The Toronto Blue Jays, who are very talented offensively, are in need of a legitimate starting pitcher and the team is showing interest in one of the top starting pitchers available on the trade market.
Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com reports that the Blue Jays are interested in Chicago White Sox right-handed pitcher Jeff Samardzija.
Samardzija, 30, is one of the many pitchers that are on the Blue Jays’ radar. Even though he has had a down year, he is one of the more attractive trade pieces on the market, given his solid track record and bounce back potential due to the White Sox’ MLB worst defense, as Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet.ca notes.
On this day last year, the Chicago Cubs and Oakland Athletics agreed to a deal that sent Samardzija, along with Jason Hammel, to Oakland. Since then, Samardzija has been traded to the White Sox and he yet again appears to be a likely trade candidate.
Both Samardzija and his agent, Mark Rodgers, have made it clear that Samardzija will be testing the free agent waters at the end of the year, so any acquiring team knows that a deal very well could be a couple month rental.
Even though he will hit free agency at the end of the year, Samardzija is still likely to be traded and there will be plenty of teams joining the Blue Jays in the pursuit of the veteran right-hander.
Follow Robert Murray on Twitter @RobertMurrayBBE
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