With Ike Davis Inked, Could Jeff Samardzija End Up Staying?

Immediately after Josh Donaldson was traded, the rumor mill began swirling around Jeff Samardzija. There was talk that he could be headed to Boston, Atlanta, or the South Side of Chicago, but none of those trades have come to pass. On Tuesday night, the A’s signed Ike Davis to a one year, $3.8M deal, which is reasonable, considering MLBTradeRumors projected the first baseman to earn $4.4M through arbitration. With Davis now on board for 2015, and the recently signed Billy Butler holding DH duties, the A’s officially have too many first basemen.

The A’s decided to not offer Kyle Blanks a contract, perhaps due to his injury history, making Blanks a free agent. One down. That still leaves them with Davis, Butler, Nate Freiman, Brandon Moss and potentially John Jaso to man first. As Tony wrote Tuesday night, following the non-tender announcements, both Everth Cabrera and Gordon Beckham were not offered contracts, and are now also on the free agent market. Here is where things get interesting.

Live Feed

SF Giants pitcher with brief stint in 2019 signs with Atlantic League team /

Around the Foghorn

Cubs haven't had a homegrown 3+ WAR starter since 2014Cubbies Crib

Braves: 3 free agent options to replace Mike SorokaFanSided

Cubs: Jed Hoyer needs to learn: there's no room for nostalgia hereCubbies Crib

Chicago Cubs: Three low cost options for the rotationCall to the Pen

Notre Dame football: Former Irish who deserve to be in CFB HOFSlap the Sign

It’s no secret that the A’s could use some middle infield help. If they were to sign one, or both of these players (together would cost roughly $7.9M), that could lead to the A’s keeping Jeff Samardzija. How? Samardzija is a valuable trade chip, and seeing that he only has one year left until free agency, trading him would make sense. Yet, it has been assumed that moving Shark would entail Oakland receiving a shortstop in return. With Beckham and/or Cabrera in the fold, the need to trade Samardzija becomes less pressing.

That would still leave the A’s with five first basemen, however. Freiman could be moved, but the return wouldn’t be too great. It may be worth it to hold on to the big guy, and hope he continues to develop. With Butler and Davis recently having signed, that leaves us with Moss and Jaso as trade candidates. Jaso has one year left until hitting the free agent market, and may not fetch the return that Moss could, but Moss can also play in the outfield, and is a power threat in the middle of the lineup. Jaso, with his injury history, is expendable.

The Marlins are looking for a first baseman, and are apparently shopping their top pitching prospect, Andrew Heaney in trade negotiations. If this option is presented to Oakland, Moss could be the one on the move. It’s still early in the offseason, and Billy Beane has said that he wants a team that will continue to improve as the season progresses (young, maturing talent) meaning a trade for more prospects will happen. With Ike Davis signed, and more middle infield options on the market, it may not take Jeff Samardzija to acquire that young talent anymore. Instead, Shark and Sonny Gray could combine to be a formidable one-two punch in 2015.

Next: A's Middle Infield for 2015: Cabrera, Beckham and Sogard