Chicago White Sox set to acquire Jeff Samardzija

Being on the verge of a deal for what seemed like eternity, Jon Heyman of CBS Sports confirmed that the Chicago White Sox and Oakland Athletics have completed a trade that sends pitcher Jeff Samardzija to the White Sox in exchange for Marcus Semien, Chris Bassitt and at least one more player.

The move represents the White Sox “win now” mentality as they inked closer David Robertson earlier in the night and Adam LaRoche a week before. With the acquisition,  White Sox have put themselves in a position to contend in 2015.

Samardzija, 29, will be making somewhat of a homecoming as he saw himself traded last season before the deadline from the Chicago Cubs to the Athletics. Having received little to no run support from the Cubs, Samardzija ended up pitching in the thick of a pennant race for the A’s in 2014. Overall on the season, the Indiana native and 2014 All Star pitched to a 7-13 record with a 2.99 ERA in 219.2 innings pitched.

For the A’s, this continues their retooling phase as Samardzija becomes the latest star to be moved with Josh Donaldson and Brandon Moss having already been traded. In this trade, Semien represents their biggest acquisition. The 24 year-old infielder  batted .234/.300/.372 in 64 games for the White Sox in 2014, while playing second base, third base and shortstop. With his ability to see the strike zone and play around the infield, Semien could see himself as an incumbent in the A’s infield in 2015.

Bassitt, 25, entered 2014 as the White Sox 15th best prospect. Despite a broken hand, Bassitt made his major league debut in 2014 but only found his way into six games, starting five of them. The A’s are set to receive at least one more player in the deal, although that player hasn’t been officially named yet.

The acquisition of Samardzija now gives the White Sox a formidable trio of starters including Chris Sale and Jose Quintana.