The Giants are in the market for starting pitching.
It's a deep class of free-agent starters, and one right-hander in particular intrigues Giants broadcaster Mike Krukow:
Jeff Samardzija.
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"He's still a young pitcher. He's extremeley athletic. And I think more than anything, in his career to this point, he's been more of a thrower than a pitcher," Krukow explained on KNBR 680-AM on Monday morning. "When you are pretty one-speeded with what you throw, pretty predictable to the type of movement that you throw, if you're not perfect with your control and location, you're gonna get hit. They're gonna square you up.
"You get him around Dave Righetti and Mark Gardner, they finesse him a little bit and show him some different ways to get people out without trying to overthrow every pitch, I think he has the ability to pitch ... plus the ballpark in San Francisco can be such a forgiving park to guys who will put the ball in the air."
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Samardzija became a full-time starter with the Cubs in 2012, posting a 9-13 record with a 3.81 ERA. He struck out 180 in 174.2 innings.
San Francisco Giants
In 2013, he went 8-13 with a 4.34 ERA, striking out 214 in 213.2 innings.
He made 33 starts in 2014 (he was an All-Star) -- 17 with the Cubs and 13 with the A's -- and registered a 7-13 record despite a stellar 2.99 ERA.
Oakland traded him to the White Sox last winter, and Samardzija regressed in Chicago.
Not only did he go 11-13 with a 4.96 ERA, but he surrendered more home runs (29) and hits (228) than anybody in the American League.
His strikeout numbers dropped to 163 in 214 innings.
That doesn't concern Krukow.
"I think it would be a great project," he said. "It's hard to imagine a guy being a 4-year, $80 million project. But I do believe there's a tremendous amount of growth in his ability to pitch in front of him."