2/9 Samardzija contract details

Asked at the Cubs Convention about whether the decision to shut him down early in 2012 was a good one, Jeff Samardzija said no, but he understood why management did what it did.

“I want to pitch, period,” Samardzija said in January. “I don’t make those decisions. We’ll answer those questions in the future. If I’m strong and healthy and ready to go, it’ll obviously be a great decision. I don’t ever think when you’re healthy and not playing is a good decision. … But I do understand why they did it and the reason for it, and because I’m a reasonable man, I understand. The thing is we have common ground. We want to win — Theo [Epstein] wants to win, Jed [Hoyer] wants to win, our team wants to win, and as a whole, I’m pretty stubborn, but if you get four guys in a room who say, ‘This will be best for the team in the future,’ then I’m going to listen to it.”

He may argue for more innings this year. Samardzija’s contract includes incentives for innings pitched. He received a base salary of $2.64 million, and will get an additional $25,000 for 180 innings pitched; $25,000 for 185 innings; $25,000 for 190 innings; $25,000 for 195 innings; and $25,000 for 200 innings.

– Carrie Muskat