Earlier this week, the Cubs traded for Aaron Heilman by sending Ronny Cedeno and Garrett Olson to the Mariners.
Heilman and Samardzija will fight for the fifth spot in the rotation along with Sean Marshall and Chad Gaudin.
The top 4 starters are Carlos Zambrano, Rich Harden, Ryan Dempster and Ted Lilly.
What about Jake Peavy?
Cubs Asst. GM Randy Bush says there have been "no talks" not once, not twice, but 3 times.
"We've had no talks about Jake Peavy since they were well documented during the winter meetings. There's been nothing to add with that. No talks. There's been no talks with that, and I don't anticipate anything happening with that."Samardzija wants to do anything possible to "avoid the whole Triple-A stint."
"I've been watching it pretty closely," Samardzija said of the Heilman trade. "All I can do is go to spring training and put my arm in the best shape possible. The way it is shaping up now, there is an open spot for the fifth starter. I'm going to fight tooth and nail for that position..."Both Samardzija and Heilman are South Bend alums.
"I know Aaron pretty well," Samardzija said. "He came back to Notre Dame once when I was a sophomore. I'm sure he's going to be competing as hard as I am."Pitchers and catchers report February 14th.
