Johnny Cueto and Cole Hamels are maybe the most alluring starting pitchers who could be available as the July 31 trade deadline approaches, but Jeff Samardzija is another intriguing name. Like Cueto, he's a free agent after the season, and with the Chicago White Sox seven games under .500 and in last place in the AL Central, he's a good bet to be traded.

The question is: What are you getting? Samardzija has a 4.33 ERA and leads the AL in hits allowed, so that doesn't look like a major acquisition, although he's not really that much different from the past couple of seasons:

Jeff Samardzija has gone at least seven innings in nine of his past 10 starts. Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images

2013 FIP: 3.77

2014 FIP: 3.20

2015 FIP: 3.50

That doesn't mean he's exactly the same pitcher. While his ERA may be inflated due to pitching in The Cell and pitching in front of one of the league's worst defenses (only the Phillies have a worse Defensive Runs Saved total), his strikeout rate is down from 23.0 percent to 19.8 percent and he's allowing fewer groundballs:

2013: 49.3 percent

2014: 53.2 percent

2015: 41.9 percent

Anyway, I still see Samardzija improving on that 4.33 ERA moving forward, especially moving to a better team. Maybe he's not Cueto or Hamels, but he also wouldn't cost as much. He's not an ace but is a solid mid-rotation type of starter. Collin Whitchurch of The Catbird Seat blog suggests the Toronto Blue Jays should go after him:

Toronto could obviously use some pitching help before the trade deadline, but while top targets such as Johnny Cueto or Cole Hamels would be most ideal, it's uncertain whether or not they'd be willing to give up any of their top prospects -- LHP Daniel Norris, OF Dalton Pompey, RHP Jeff Hoffman -- to acquire a pitcher of that magnitude.

What they SHOULD do (in the eyes of this White Sox blogger) is focus on a guy who would allow them to hang on to those three, and that guy should be Samardzija.

Samardzija's numbers on the surface still look a bit mediocre, but even if you take his ERA and ERA+ at face value he would still be an upgrade if Toronto is hypothetically staring down a David Price or Chris Archer in a must-win playoff game. And while the White Sox would presumably start any Samardzija-to-Toronto conversations with the aforementioned three prospects, Toronto could likely get him from Chicago for a next-tier prospect such as catcher Max Pentecost.

Few teams are in as desperate "win-now" mode as the Blue Jays. Given the ages of Jose Bautista (34), Edwin Encarnacion (32), Russell Martin (32), Jose Reyes (32), Mark Buehrle (36) and R.A. Dickey (40), much of the core of the team is all 32 or older, putting an imperative on 2015. Alex Anthopoulos, in his sixth season as general manager, may need to make the playoffs to keep his job as the Jays have the longest playoff drought of any team in the majors. The AL East is obviously weaker than it has been in two decades. The Toronto rotation ranks 14th in the AL with a 4.58 ERA.

The Blue Jays will certainly make a move eventually, whether for the rotation or the bullpen. Samardzija would be a solid rental.

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