A's trade Jeff Samardzija to the White Sox

CBS Sports' Jon Heyman broke the story late last night that right-handed starter Jeff Samardzija was traded from the Oakland A's to the Chicago White Sox. The San Francisco Chronicle's Susan Slusser reported that infielder Marcus Semien, right-handed pitcher Chris Bassitt, and a third player yet to be named would be sent to the A's in return for Samardzija.

Samardzija, the former Cubs and A's ace, had a 2.99 ERA, 3.20 FIP, and 4.1 fWAR in 2014. He'll be 30 in January and is in the second year of arbitration, so the Sox will have him under team control through 2015, after which he will be eligible for free agency.

The White Sox have started the winter meetings off with a bang, executing this trade and, in a separate move, signing shut-down closer David Robertson. While the latter will help Chicago finish out games, Samardzija, along with left-handed staff ace Chris Sale, gives the White Sox one of the best lefty-righty one-two punches in baseball.