Major League Baseball

Next up for the A's: Deciding when to deal Samardzija

Updated Mar. 4, 2020 11:41 p.m. ET

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Let's not forget the reason the Cubs traded Jeff Samardzija to the Athletics last July: He wanted free-agent money in a long-term extension and wasn't going to settle for anything less.

Keep that in mind as the Athletics try to move Samardzija, who is now one season away from free agency. Samardzija, who will turn 30 on Jan. 23, is coming off his best season as a starter. Any team interested in him surely knows that he will not settle for a discount. And any team interested will be reluctant to give up premium talent for a one-year rental.

Clubs are not exactly balking at the possibility; the Athletics, according to a major-league source, received calls on Samardzija from four different teams early Saturday, less than one day after completing their Josh Donaldson blockbuster with the Blue Jays.

Still, the White Sox and other clubs pursuing Samardzija are in something of a box.

Athletics general manager Billy Beane generally refuses to grant negotiating windows to potential trade partners as a condition of a deal. Such moves effectively yield control to the player -- and the refusal of Samardzija to sign with his new team would compromise Beane's leverage, particularly if the news went public.

Samardzija, for his part, probably would not want to sign an extension this early in the offseason, knowing that his market will only inflate once top free agents Max Scherzer and Jon Lester sign their new deals. Heck, considering how many teams want to trade for him, he might not want to sign one at all, realizing how much in demand he will be as a free agent.

Frankly, Samardzija's ideal scenario is to be traded sometime next season. That way, he would be exempt from a qualifying offer and could enter free agency unrestricted, without a draft pick attached.

The best guess is that Beane will not wait that long; he's actively discussing multiple trades, including some involving Samardzija, sources say. But a glut of starting pitchers is available, complicating matters for the Athletics.

Beane's leverage might only increase after Lester and Scherzer sign their deals; the spurned suitors still will need a starter such as Samardzija. On the other hand, the trade market includes a number of other pitchers entering their free-agent years. The list includes the Nationals' Jordan Zimmermann and Doug Fister, Reds' Mat Latos and Mike Leake, Mariners' Hisashi Iwakuma and Padres' Ian Kennedy, among others.

Does Beane jump and take perhaps a lesser deal to stay ahead of the market? Or does he wait and try to max out?

Every day with the A's, the questions get more fascinating.