Miller vs. Samardzija: The battle of the bad deals

Shelby Miller will take the mound for the Diamondbacks tonight against Giants pitcher and former Notre Dame receiver Jeff Samardzija. Both players were acquired by their respective team in the offseason under less-than-stellar terms.

Chances are you’ve heard all about the Shelby Miller trade. The Diamondbacks traded No. 1 overall pick and their No. 2 prospect Aaron Blair, along with .300 hitter Ender Inciarte, for Miller. The results could not have been worse so far, as Miller’s ERA currently sits at 7.36.

Then there’s Samardzija. The Giants signed him to a five-year, $90 million contract in the offseason– despite being the worst statistical pitcher in the American League in 2015. He went 11-13 with a 4.96 ERA, and allowed more hits, home runs and earned runs than any other pitcher in the league. Contracts these days. He’s made more money than he ever could have at wide receiver in the NFL.

Objectively speaking, these are arguably the two worst deals of this past offseason. Miller isn’t hurting the team much monetarily, but the Braves got a lopsided return for a guy who, at best, is a No. 2 starter. Samardzija may have done well thus far, but he’s only had one truly dominant season as a starter, and a lifetime ERA over 4.00. He’ll be making $18 million a year until 2020.

Which deal will hurt its team more– if at all– remains to be seen. But it looks like each of these costly deals will leave an impact for years to come. Tonight, we’ll get to see who the best of the bad deals is.