Analyzing The Samardzija and Hammel for Russell and Straily Trade

Somewhere between the late hours of July 4th and the early morning of July 5th, the Chicago Cubs sent over starting pitchers Jeff Samardzija and Jason Hammel to the Oakland A's in exchange for star SS prospect Addison Russell as well as OF prospect Billy McKinney and starting pitcher Dan Straily. Even though the Cubs now do not have the best rotation in baseball, I like this trade for both teams. Truthfully, you can't analyze a trade less than a day after it happens, and you need to the gift of hindsight to truly see which team won a trade. The last time the Cubs and A's traded with each other, the Cubs received fantasy stud SP Rich Harden, and the A's got 4 minor leaguers, including a young catching prospect named Josh Donaldson. At the time, it looked like the Cubs stole Harden away and was now in legitimate competition with the Milwaukee Brewers who had just acquired C.C. Sabathia. However, some six odd years later, the acquisition of Harden ultimately did nothing for the Cubs, and now Josh Donaldson is one of the best players in baseball. But with all of that being said, as of the making of the trade right now, I think it's a smart move by both sides.

The Surprisingly Good Cubs Rotation

In 2007, a Notre Dame receiver, a receiver who was considered the best college wide out behind Calvin Johnson, decided he wasn't going to play football anymore. He decided he was going to play baseball. After college, he signed a five year deal with the Chicago Cubs. For the first four years of that five year deal, this former wide out was just a relief pitcher. Not even a closer, just a reliever. It looked like the decision not to play football was a bad one- especially considering how much Calvin Johnson was tearing up the NFL and how much money he was making. In 2012, this reliever was converted into a starting pitcher. Over the next two years, this pitcher had a 4.11 ERA throughout 61 starts. However, he did boast an impressive K/9, striking out a little over a batter an inning. This year, this pitcher is one of the best in the game. He has a 2.35 ERA, an 8.5 K/9, and is the ace of the Chicago Cubs rotation. As you have probably already guessed by now, this man is Jeff Samardzija.