The Oakland Athletics might not be done selling off their most prized assets, as according to Jim Benson of The Pantagraph in Bloomington, Illinois, the A’s could be on the verge of sending starting pitcher Jeff Samardzija to the Chicago White Sox.
Saturday, Nov. 29
Oakland Targeting Alexei Ramirez, Tim Anderson
Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle has the latest on Samardzija:
As I reported yesterday, the White Sox are among the teams with interest in Oakland starter Jeff Samardzija, and while many outlets today are reporting that shortstop Alexei Ramirez is the A’s target, I’m hearing that minor-league shortstop Tim Anderson is also a player Oakland likes a lot.
Anderson, a first-round pick in 2013, played 10 games at Double-A last year, so he’s not quite big-league ready, but he’s a name to keep in mind. He’s ranked the White Sox’s No. 2 overall prospect, though, so he’d be a tough get. Would the White Sox move him for one year of Samardzija? Maybe, if they had some assurance Samardzija would sign a contract extension.
Samardzija on the Trading Block
Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle reported earlier in the night that Oakland was considering trading Samardzija:
The White Sox were among the teams Slusser mentioned as a possibility:
The A’s already sent Josh Donaldson to the Toronto Blue Jays for Brett Lawrie and prospects:
Trading both Donaldson and Samardzija would further signal that Oakland’s beginning to rebuild.
The 29-year-old made 16 starts for Oakland last year after moving midseason from the Chicago Cubs. He went 5-6 with a 3.14 earned run average in 111.2 innings pitched.
Since the right-hander has only one more year left on his deal, whatever the A’s could get in return is unlikely to match what they received in the Donaldson deal.
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