UPDATE: The Giants have officially announced the deal, though it’s still pending a physical.
1:05 p.m. ET: The Giants didn’t wait long to move on from their pursuit of Zack Greinke, as Alex Pavlovic of CSNBayArea.com reports that the club has signed free agent right-hander Jeff Samardzija to a five-year contract, pending a physical. Yahoo Sports’ Tim Brown hears that the deal is worth $90 million.
Samardzija, who turns 31 in January, is coming off a disappointing year where he posted a 4.96 ERA over 32 starts while allowing a league-high 29 home runs in 214 innings. He also saw his strikeout rate fall from 8.3 K/9 to 6.9 K/9. However, a move back to the National League and a pitcher-friendly home ballpark should be good for him. Playing in front of a superior defense should also help.
Samardzija turned down a qualifying offer from the White Sox to test the open market, so the Giants will have to surrender their first-round pick for 2016.
CBS Sports’ Jon Heyman reports that Samardzija’s deal with the Giants includes a limited no-trade clause.