Report: Giants eye Samardzija, await Greinke decision

Now that David Price is off to Boston — along with the hefty seven-year deal the Red Sox signed him to — the bulk of the attention during the MLB offseason turns to Zack Greinke and whether the free agent will remain with the Los Angeles Dodgers or travel north to play for the rival San Francisco Giants.

San Francisco has had its sights on the 32-year-old righty for some time now, as the team's starting rotation is in need of a makeover. But don't let the big headlines fool you. While the Giants have surely made Greinke a large, competitive offer, they are keeping a close eye on other candidates should Greinke choose to remain in Dodger blue.

According to Alex Pavlovic of Comcast SportsNet Bay Area, free agent Jeff Samardzija has remained on the Giants' radar, albeit in a much more hushed manner:

Given what’s left after Greinke, the more appealing Plan B may be to try and lock up two starters from a deep second tier. All has been quiet on the Mike Leake front, but the Giants have kept tabs on Samardzija since the start of free agency. The 30-year-old is coming off his worst season as a starter (4.96 ERA for the White Sox) but he’s not far removed from dominance. Samardzija posted a 2.99 ERA for the Cubs and A’s in 2014 and has thrown at least 213 innings in three consecutive seasons. 

That durability is appealing, and it doesn’t come with a lot of innings on the odometer. Because he wasn’t a full-time starter until 2012, Samardzija has thrown just 991 2/3 big league innings. Greinke already has thrown 2,094 2/3 innings, Price is at 1,441 2/3, and Cueto at 1,420 1/3.

Of course, all hands are on deck for Greinke, but it makes sense for the Giants to be eyeing Samardzija as a second candidate because of that "durability." As Pavlovic points out, Johnny Cueto is projected as the next most eligible pitcher on the free agent market after Greinke. But while he is coming off a dominant season with the Kansas City Royals, Cueto has an injury history that makes his stock less appealing — and the Giants already had their fair share of injured starting pitchers in their 2015 campaign.

After Greinke, whom Giants' skipper Bruce Bochy started in the 2015 All-Star Game, Samardzija could be the next best fit. Granted, other clubs are looking at Samardzija as well, as his name has been linked to the Cubs as of late. There is also the thought that the right-hander's lack of starts makes him a higher risk pickup. Perhaps it depends on what the Giants find to be the bigger risk — a four- to five-year deal for a free agent pitcher with fewer starts or a six-year deal with a price tag as big as Greinke's.

Top candidate Greinke is expected to make his final decision later this week, John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle reported on Tuesday.