Chicago Cubs still listening on Jeff Samardzija?

Sep 17, 2013; Milwaukee, WI, USA; Chicago Cubs pitcher

pitches in the first inning against the Milwaukee Brewers at Miller Park. Mandatory Credit: Benny Sieu-USA TODAY Sports

Chicago Cubs’ right-handed starting pitcher Jeff Samardzija received a decent amount of interest from multiple teams during the offseason. The Atlanta Braves, one of the teams interested in Samardzija in the very beginning, looked as if they could be the favorite to land him.

Other teams that were interested in Jeff besides the Braves were the Arizona Diamondbacks, Baltimore Orioles and the Toronto Blue Jays.

The Cubs front office asked Toronto for Aaron Sanchez, Marcus Stroman and a third player in return – considered by many to be a steep asking price for the Chicago righty.

I also believe the asking price for the 29-year-old righty was a little too high, so obviously nothing came out of these rumors. I think I remember hearing about the Cubs asking for either Justin Upton or Jason Heyward from the Braves in return for Samardzija, which could be a reason why Atlanta backed out. That’s a pretty hefty price tag if you ask me, but would have been a great trade if they were able to pull it off.

But hey, we always have MLB The Show. Am I right? Just need to make sure that you turn ‘forced trades’ on.

Now according to Chicago Sun-Times writer Gordon Wittenmeyer, there could be a strong possibility that the Cubs will still deal Samardzija. It’s obvious that the Cubs are no where near close to signing him to a long-term deal. They were able to avoid arbitration not too long ago, agreeing on a one year worth $5.345 million, but an apparent gap between the two sides still exists.

Wittenmeyer mentions a possible deal going down before the season actually starts. One of these few teams could resurface sooner or later with a deal that the Cubs won’t be able to pass up. Either way, it looks like Samardzija will be traded at some point this season.