Oakland Athletics Arbitration Estimates

Jeff Samardzija

Samardzija is estimated to receive a $4.1 million raise to bring his salary up to $9.5 million. This puts the Athletics in a strange spot because it’s not an unreasonable price for their payroll, especially for the man who will be their one or two pitcher in 2015 but with only one year remaining under team control he may still be a trade chip if the A’s seem out of contention by the trade deadline.

On the other hand, with Scott Kazmir set to make $2 million more than The Shark in 2015, it may make sense for the A’s to hold onto Samardzija and use Kazmir as trade bait. Of course, if these two are killing it at the deadline, expect to see them both in green and gold. Of all the things we don’t understand about Billy Beane, his trade strategy for pitchers is pretty high on the list.

Next: Kyle Blanks