White Sox make $15.8 million qualifying offer to Jeff Samardzija

However, Major League Baseball analyst Bruce Levine reported on Twitter that Samardzija should be expected to decline this offer from the White Sox.

There’s no doubt that Samardzija hurt his free agent stock considerably this season, particularly after a breakout 2014 campaign had many people thinking he’d made the jump into No. 1 starter territory.

Samardzija should not have a problem finding a multi-year deal from a team, like the Detroit Tigers, betting on a bounce-back season.

Samardzija was extended a qualifying offer by the White Sox Friday. The pick comes between the first and second round of the draft.

The New York Yankees, San Francisco Giants, Los Angeles Dodgers and Cubs are believed to be among a number of parties interested in Samardzija, who was acquired by the White Sox from the Oakland A’s last December in exchange for four players. To reiterate, he gave up an MLB-leading 228 hits, 118 earned runs and 29 home runs.

But the pairing didn’t go as either had planned, as Samardzija went 11-13 with a 4.96 ERA and 163 strikeouts in 214 innings pitched in 2015.

The Chicago White Sox are looking to get a few value from starting pitcher Jeff Samardzija this offseason. Detroit is looking for a few second-tier free agent pitchers, which Samardzija would fall under the category.