March 02--The loss of Jeff Samardzija to free agency means someone else on the White Sox staff will have to pick up his innings.
Easier said than done.
Though Samardzija didn't fare well in his only season on the South Side (11-13, 4.96 ERA over 32 starts), he did manage to throw a team-leading 214 innings, helping ease the load on the bullpen.
Samardzija's replacement in the White Sox rotation, Mat Latos, managed only 88 1/3 innings last year with the Marlins, Dodgers and Angels. Erik Johnson, who could push Latos, threw 167 2/3 combined with Triple-A Charlotte and the Sox.
While some surmised that Samardzija's struggles with the Sox would hurt him in free agency, the Giants weren't all that concerned about his 2015 season and handed him a five-year, $90 million deal.
Samardzija didn't communicate well with Sox pitching coach Don Cooper, who took the blame for the subpar season.
"I know my successes ... and I know ones I consider failures, and that's one that I look at, 'Man, I failed,'" Cooper said at SoxFest.
Giants general manager Bobby Evans told me they valued Samardzija's overall career numbers over last year's performance, and believe new pitching coaches, an All-Star catcher and the proverbial change of scenery will help.
"I think we expect that there will be something learned from last year," Evans said. "But we also think the benefit of a Buster Posey, the benefit of (pitching coach) Dave Righetti and (bullpen coach) Mark Gardner, and the benefit of AT Park and the benefit of a supporting cast where he's not necessarily expected to be the No. 1 or No. 2 guy ... We think there is a lot to learn from last year, but also a lot to learn from what he did well in 2014 that made him so significantly successful.
"So I think those elements combined allowed us to go out and make the investment."
Samardzija will make his Giants debut in their Cactus League opener today against the Dodgers. With Madison Bumgarner and Johnny Cueto in the rotation, he doesn't have as much pressure on him as he did with the Sox.
"We're glad to have him," manager Bruce Bochy said. "He's got a lot of personality, a lot of fire. We love his big arm. We're excited that he was out there and available. We look at him as a guy who's going to help strengthen this rotation."
