Nov. 06--The White Sox have extended a one-year, $15.8 million qualifying offer to right-handed pitcher Jeff Samardzija, the team announced Friday.
Samardzija has a week to either accept the offer or become a free agent, and he is expected to turn it down while seeking a longer-term deal on the market. The Sox would then receive a compensatory draft pick after the first round from the team with which he eventually signs.
Samardzija joined the Sox via a six-player trade with the Athletics in December 2014, and the Sox said then that they hoped to work out an extension to keep Samardzija on the South Side long term.
But the pairing didn't go as either had planned, as Samardzija went 11-13 with a 4.96 ERA and 163 strikeouts in 214 innings pitched in 2015. He had moments of excellence but also largely faltered after the Sox decided not to move him at the trade deadline.
Sox general manager Rick Hahn said late in the year that he expected Samardzija to explore the free-agent market.
Despite the down year, Samardzija's durability, the low innings count on his arm thus far in his career and the expectation that he can bounce back from such a season could help him to command a better deal in free agency.
