Giants reportedly have 'strong interest' in Jeff Samardzija

It isn't even silly season for trade rumors yet, but I'm more convinced than ever that buy August 1, Tyler Beede will be the top prospect in the Giants' system. There's a combination of need, success, and urgency for the Giants right now, and I don't doubt for a second that Kyle Crick can be had in the right deal. This is important because it seems like the Giants are interested only in players who will likely cost Crick, Andrew Susac. or a combination of the two.

Here is one of those players:

The #SFGiants are showing strong interest in #Cubs ace Jeff Samardzija. Also in picture are #Yankees, #Orioles, #Angels, #RedSox, #Bluejays.

— Bob Nightengale (@BNightengale) June 15, 2014

Jeff Samardzija is having his best season, a campaign that finally matches his raw stuff. He throws hard and looks funny -- of course the Giants are interested. He will almost certainly cost Crick and possibly Susac, too.

The good news is that he's under contract for next year, too, so this wouldn't be a straight rental. The bad news is that he's erratic; he started the 2013 season just as fantastically before having a rough four months. This isn't the Astros trading for Randy Johnson or the Brewers trading for C.C. Sabathia. There's some risk, here.

On the other hand, I do enjoy the idea of him in the Giants rotation next year in addition to this year. It kind of reminds me of the Freddy Sanchez trade, oddly enough, because that one had a do-over built in when the Giants couldn't do anything in 2009. If the Giants sputter this season, either in the regular season or in the postseason, they'll still have a nice start on the 2015 rotation.

On the other other hand, I'm not wild about a team with one or two premium prospects trading them both away in the same deal. The Giants need help in the infield and rotation, so I'm not sure about Samardzija being the best one-stop-shopping trip for the Giants.

Mostly, I would like his next 22 months worth of stats on my desk by the time we go home tonight. There's no sense arguing in favor of or against him until we know the future, so crack to it, interns.

Samardzija is still one of the harder throwers in baseball, and the fielding-independent statistics have always pegged him as being more like the pitcher he's been this year. I could probably talk myself into a deal. My only regret is that the Cubs don't have a second baseman worth getting at the same time.