Samardzija lands 5-year deal with Giants

The San Francisco Giants found their consolation prize Saturday afternoon, agreeing to a five-year deal with right-hander Jeff Samardzija worth a reported $90 million just hours after Zack Greinke landed a six-year contract with Arizona.

Samardzija's deal also contains a partial no-trade clause, according to Jon Heyman of CBS Sports, and is pending a physical. By signing Samardzija, the Giants will forfeit their first pick - the 19th overall selection - in the 2016 amateur draft.

Samardzija, an All-Star in 2014, will return to the National League following a brutal season with the Chicago White Sox, wherein the right-hander posted a 4.96 ERA over 32 starts while allowing more hits and home runs than every other AL pitcher. The 30-year-old also watched his strikeout numbers and ground-ball rate plummet, perpetuating the inconsistency that's plagued him since becoming a full-time starter with the Chicago Cubs in 2012.

"This guy is a horse," Giants general manager Bobby Evans said. "Even in tough times, and what they were doing in Chicago last year, he still put 200-plus innings on the board. His numbers may have been affected by (being in the) third place he's pitched in in two years. There may be some mechanical adjustments he needs to make."

Despite his struggles last season, Samardzija still rejected a one-year, $15.8-million qualifying offer from the White Sox and opted to hit the open market with his value possibly at its nadir. The former two-sport standout at Notre Dame will get the opportunity to rebound, though, in a much more favorable environment for pitchers than U.S. Cellular Field.

"You look at his track record," Evans said. "You look at the presence he brings on the mound. You look at back-to-back-to-back 200-inning seasons and you realize he's a force to be reckoned with. That's the reason we targeted him. That's the reason why we focused on him as one of our top priorities."

Projected 2016 rotation

The Giants aren't necessarily done tinkering with their rotation, though. According to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports, the club is still interested in negotiating a new deal with Mike Leake, and remain fond of Hisashi Iwakuma, though the latter is attached to draft-pick compensation.