The Chicago White Sox made a big push to improve their pitching staff with the reported late-night agreements on a trade for Jeff Samardzija and an agreement with free-agent closer David Robertson.
Why the White Sox would trade for Samardzija
Samardzija threw a career-high 219 2/3 innings in 2014, split between the Cubs and Athletics, and finished with a 2.99 ERA.
SamardzijaSamardzija’s acquisition bolsters a White Sox rotation that already includes lefties Chris Sale and Jose Quintana, both of whom finished in the top 10 in Fielding Independent Pitching (also known as FIP, an ERA estimator based on a pitcher’s strikeouts, walks and home runs allowed). Samardzija ranked 17th in FIP, with 3.20.
Even with Sale and Quintana, White Sox starters ranked 25th in ERA and 26th in FIP last season, as the back end of their rotation was lacking in quality arms.
Disregard the win-loss record
Samardzija was 7-13 last season through no fault of his own. He made five starts in which he allowed no runs and pitched at least six innings, and he didn’t earn a win in any of them (amazingly, his team lost all five games).
He also got no-decisions in three starts in which he went at least six innings and allowed only one run.
What made him so good
Samardzija improved from 2013 in large part because he harnessed his fastball. His walk rate dropped from 8.5 percent in 2013 to 4.9 percent last season.
He’s thrown his fastball in the strike zone more and more often over the past three seasons. In 2011, he did so only 42 percent of the time. By 2014, he was at 54 percent.
Why they got Robertson
Robertson should be a huge upgrade for the White Sox bullpen, particularly in terms of his ability to finish off hitters.
White Sox relievers had a 4.38 ERA (28th in the majors) and an 18 percent strikeout rate (29th in the majors) last season. They've now made two acquisitions to shore that up, with Zach Duke and Robertson signed to long-term deals.
RobertsonRobertson has a 2.20 ERA over the past four seasons. He struck out 37 percent of the hitters he faced in 2014 (10th in the majors).
Robertson comes with both an impressive fastball and a curveball against which hitters missed on nearly half their swings last season (47 percent). That was the sixth-highest miss rate among the 101 pitchers who threw the most curveballs last season.
His success is keyed by an ability to get out of jams. Opponents have hit .184 with runners in scoring position against him over the past four seasons. They were 3-for-29 with 19 strikeouts with the bases loaded in that span.