Cubs Listened To Offers For Samardzija
Discussions didn't go anywhere, but the Chicago Cubs listened to offers for Jeff Samardzija ahead of this week's trade deadline.
"I don't think players should be all that sensitive about it," Jed Hoyer said. "If you are a seller, it is almost impossible for your name not to be mentioned in a deal. We never came close with any deal for Samardzija and we are happy we have him. We hope he is here for a long time."
The Cubs started talking about a long-term deal with Samardzija last fall. The conversations were preliminary but substantive.
"It is something we would like to do it for sure," Hoyer said of working out a long-term deal. "We love having him on the team. He brings the right competitiveness to the club. I think he will keep getting better. We want to acquire a lot more pitchers like him. It is hard to rank it on a priority list, but it is very high on things we would like to get done."