Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports
There was sadness and hope from Jeff Samardzija, who sometimes used the past tense in describing his Giants tenure but also spoke in first-person about the 2020 club.
“We’re raking, man. It’s fun to watch fun,” Samardzija said after his Friday return, in which he went three innings and allowed three runs. “It’s fun to watch those runs go on the board, and you want to be a part of it.”
A day later, he is no longer a part of it. The Giants designated the 35-year-old for assignment and placed him on unconditional release waivers, ending his five-year contract with the club a few days short of completion.
Samardzija had been the 29th man on the doubleheader roster, rising from Sacramento without the Giants demoting anyone. They would have had to option someone else, as Samardzija couldn’t be sent down without his consent. With two games left in the 2020 season, they parted ways with their $90 million arm who chewed up just over 650 innings in his five years with the team.
Shoulder issues struck in 2018, which sidetracked his career and arose this season, too, in which he will finish with just four appearances and a 9.72 ERA. He had pushed for the chance to start Friday in one half of a doubleheader and, while he was not brilliant, he swallowed a few more innings and spared the bullpen one more time.
“He came out with the best stuff that we’ve seen from him all season, dating back to the first spring training,” Gabe Kapler said after the Giants’ 6-5 loss at Oracle Park, where Samardzija breathed in every bit of air as he said goodbye to a place if not the people.
“You take for granted all those times before you’ve done it,” Samardzija said after his 110th and final start with San Francisco. “It’s like you’re always going to be there, always going to have an opportunity. But I think we all know that time goes by real fast.”
There is no active roster spot available, but Samardzija’s exit leaves a place open on the 40-man roster for a club that needs more pen arms. Perhaps Camilo Doval, the young righty fireballer who recently was on their taxi squad, could be added.