Chicago Cubs Increase Jeff Samardzija’s Value by Adding Him to Starting Rotation

Starting pitchers are worth much more to a baseball team than relievers. That's not to say relievers aren't important, of course. But a pitcher who can give a club 120-150 innings helps a staff more than one who contributes 70 or so innings.

Jeff Samardzija was successful as a reliever for the Chicago Cubs last season, posting a 2.97 ERA with 87 strikeouts in 88 innings. But Samardzija wanted to be a starting pitcher, as he had been for most of his minor league career. And with holes in their rotation, the Cubs were wise to give him a shot this spring....

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