The Chicago White Sox signed former New York Yankee pitcher David Robertson on Monday night. They also acquired pitcher Jeff Samardzija from the Oakland Athletics.
Robertson agreed to a four-year, $46 million deal with the White Sox. He will have an average salary of $11.5 million, according to the Associated Press. The Yankees did give Robertson an offer, but it was lower than the White Sox’s offer. It’s not a surprise that Robertson signed with another team. Recently the Yankees signed left-hander Andrew Miller to a four-year, $36 million contract.
The White Sox will send infielder Marcus Semien, right-hander Chris Bassitt, and a third player to the Athletics as part of the Samardzija trade. Samardzija became a part of the Chicago Cubs rotation in 2012. This past season he was 7-13 with a 2.99 ERA with the Cubs and Athletics. As a starter he is 26-42 with a 3.86 ERA. Samardzija will become a free agent at the end of the 2015 season.
Robertson was an All-Star in 2011 and won the World Series with the Yankees in 2009. This past season he took over the closer role from Mariano Rivera and was 4-5 with 39 saves and a 3.08 ERA, according to ESPN. He has a career ERA of 2.81 in seven seasons.
The Yankees had made a qualifying offer to Robertson, which gave them draft-pick compensation if he signed with another team. The White Sox lose a second-round pick because they had one of the top ten initial picks in next year’s draft. The Yankees will get an extra pick between the first two rounds. This year the White Sox were 70-92 and finished fourth in the AL Central.