10:53am: Major League sources tell David Kaplan of CSNChicago.com that the teams have discussed Garza, but other names have not been exchanged. Though the Cubs are willing to part with talent for the right-hander, the Rays would have to be overwhelmed to move him, Kaplan reports.
8:32am: The Sun-Times report surprised club officials, according to MLB.com's Carrie Muskat (on Twitter). The Rays want a lot for Garza and may be inclined to wait until July. Earlier this morning, ESPN.com's Buster Olney reported that a deal for Garza is not close and is more likely to occur in July than now (Twitter links).
7:41am: The Cubs are close to trading for Rays righty Matt Garza, reports Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times. He says the Cubs "appear to have moved past the Rangers" in their efforts to acquire the 27-year-old.
Garza has been a hot topic all winter, with teams like the Nationals and Brewers also inquiring. A deal has seemed unlikely up to this point, with manager Joe Maddon showing amusement with Winter Meetings trade rumors and saying, "Matt Garza will be pitching for us." Executive VP Andrew Friedman indicated later that he's open-minded to any trade that meets the team's objectives, but he values his starting pitching depth highly.
Garza posted a 3.91 ERA, 6.6 K/9, 2.8 BB/9, 1.2 HR/9, and 35.8% groundball rate in 204 2/3 innings this year. He could earn $6MM+ in arbitration for 2011 and is under team control through '13 due to his Super Two status. The Brewers had to give up Brett Lawrie to acquire Shaun Marcum from Toronto; in theory the price for Garza should be higher due to an extra year of control.
With Ryan Dempster, Carlos Zambrano, Tom Gorzelanny, Randy Wells, and Carlos Silva already penciled into the Cubs' rotation, acquiring Garza would give the Cubs flexibility to move a starter unless Gorzelanny or Wells is part of the deal.
Now this is very interesting…
i just dont see this happening
I don’t believe it at all
Probably involves Brett Jackson going to TB. If so, not a bad trade for the Rays.
It doesn’t. Hendry said that Archer, Jackson, Cashner, Colvin, and Castro would not be traded. I hear that it is Lee, Chirinos, and then another pitcher or two (probably Carpenter).
Well not as good as a haul imo especially if it doesn’t involve Jackson. but Lee is interesting pick up if his bat can develop more. Does make sense for the Cubs since Lee is obviously blocked at SS
Ya, the Rays wanted Archer, but seem to have backed off on that. McNutt may be the pitcher in the deal though. Lee isn’t really blocked, as the Cubs seem to see Castro as a 2B if Lee were to have come up to the Majors.
Castro would most likely move to third.
No, Castro will move to 2nd, and Dewitt would move to 3rd.
DeWitt has no power he will be gone either this year or no later then ST 2012
Your guess is just as good as anyone elses. It is thought when Lee comes up that Castro moves to 2B or 3B. You could have Castro at 3B, Lee at SS and LeMahieu or Barney or Smith or Flaherty or Thomas or someone else at 2B. Then again, maybe Smith cuts it at 3B or whatever. Bottom line, these scenerios are at least two years away. Anything can change when a guy steps up and beats someone out.
Nope, Lee would most likely shift Castro over to third.
Nope, lee would most likly shift castro to 2b unless you want another Aram arm at 3b.
just kidding but Dewitt at 3b, Lee at ss, and Castro at 2b, with ? at 1b in the near future.
Garza may have an extra year of control compared to Marcum, but Garza is also far more expensive.
Sorry but Garza to the Cubs makes no sense at this point. What are they playing for in 2011? The wildcard?
Some of those bigger contracts come off after next year(Aramis/Fukudome). And by then maybe they can trade of one of the really bad contracts(Soriano/Zambrano) to make a solid run at the playoffs and beyond. But picking up Garza as he’s arb eligible and right before he hits free agency doesn’t exact help cut costs.
Well maybe after this season Garza isn’t available. . He’s still under team control until 2014. Top rotation starters are a premium, if they have a chance to acquire him now they should, even if they are not contenders this season, its not a 1 season move.
Exactly. The Cubs can get at least 3 years from him without an extension. Plus he only made 3.35M in 2010. He isnt going to jump all the way to 10M. He’ll probably end up somewhere around 5-6M which isnt a lot considering what he brings to the table.
Then once the bigger contracts start expiring they can use some of that money to get him extended beyond 2013.
It makes plenty of sense if Michael Young would accept a trade to Chicago (he has a limited no-trade – not clear if the Cubs are on his blocked list). The Rangers would love to flip Young for pitching with Cliff Lee gone and Adrian Beltre signed. Big Z’s contract matches up nicely with Young’s (Zambrano’s about $18M a year through 2012 with a vesting option in 2013; Young’s $15M through 2013). Young slots in at 2B for the Cubs and Garza takes Z’s place in the rotation.
Wildcard is pushing it they will play to try to be a .500 club which is will be a miracle in itself
I’m surprised the Yankees aren’t in on this. Garza is better than 60% of their current rotation.
I’d be VERY surprised to see the Rays trade Garza within the division
It’s a trade. What do the Yankees have to offer the Rays to entice them to trade in their division?
To hear Yankees fans tell it, they have all these future HOFers in their system. They must have *something* to offer.
I think real Yankee fans would say they would like to see more emphasis put on developing home grown talent then throwing the farm and millions at big name free agents. Obviously, the Yankees HAVE to spend the money but they’re the team that has set the precedent on ridiculous contracts for free agents.
Agreed, their prospects get over hyped and in the minds of Yankee fans are all a can’t miss. They suddenly become worth one for one deals for high level talented major leaguers.
I don’t think the Ray would trade Garza to a team in their own division but if the Cubs are out of the pennant race in June or July maybe the Yankees can trade for him then.
if their out in june or july? they will be out of it in May
I surprised that the Rangers or Yankees aren’t in on this. Garza has great stuff.
The rangers ARE in on this.
Rangers might have to move Young before they can do anything else with their pitching. and IDK that the Rays would trade within their division.
I love the idea of the Cubs getting him although another team to watch might be the Nats. Put him at the front with Zimmermann and Strasburg (next year) and that is a very good young rotation.
I was thinking the same thing on the Nats. If they could piece this together they could have a very good rotation for a long time. Would be able to content in the NL East (for a wildcard)
IDK about this year. But since he isnt going to be a FA til 2014 for reasonable money over the next couple years it would be a better option than signing say Pavano for a 2 or 3 year deal.
Looking ahead to 2013 which would put Strasburg over 2 years from surgery and would still have Garza under team control along with Zimmermann. Werth, Zimmerman, and Harper in the lineup. Perhaps a big FA signing like Jered Weaver. Could be an interesting team
It’s not certain that the Rangers HAVE to trade MY. He is intriguing as a replacement option at any infield position and can hit, even if not for power like Vlad, so MY may be it at DH for the Rangers.
I didnt say that Texas had to trade Young. Im just saying that in order add more pitching they may have to move him to free up money.
Garza’s under team control through 2013. I’d love to see the Royals make a play for him, drawing from their wealth of prospects. Unlike Greinke would have been, Garza would still be under team control when “The Process” comes to fruition in ’12 or ’13, at which point he/they could decide what to do. He could be the team’s legitimate ace – not an “ace” like Millwood, Chen, etc. – now and once all of the team’s pitching prospects make it up. And, even in 2013, he’s only going to be 30.
Even this year, he’s the type of pitcher that would give KC a chance to win one (or at least be in one) out of every 5, and once Moose, Hosmer, et al., make it up, lead a young, competitive team, much like the Rays of a few seasons ago.
too early for the royals to start flipping prospects imo..
Not unless it is for an outfielder like Upton. They would consider that.
Still wouldn’t make sense. You are wasting team control on non competitive years.
Exactly. KC needs to sit on their hands until 2013 to see exactly what they have, then flip the overstock for guys like Upton.
I like that idea as well…The Royals with all of this young talent on the way are going to need some vetran leadership…It’s not like the Royals can sign any one in FA that is any good so why not make a trade for Garza…
Look people can sit here and say why waste team control on non competitive years and that’s fine but I am the fan that has to go these games… I would love to see a pitcher on this team that has a shot at getting us a win every five days…
Yep, in “the process,” ’11 is the non-competitive year, with ’12 and ’13 as the years KC wants to make some noise. So, what better than a 28/29yo, sub-4 ERA pitcher in the #1 spot? More appealing to me than Francis, Millwood, for sure. Then, in ’13, when your roster is unbelievably cheap, you decide to pony up for Garza on a new deal, or any other ace out there – they’ll be a low-payroll team for the next five or six years for sure.
Are they trading Garza for Zambrano to be their new DH? That’d make sense…
IDK about this year. But since he isnt going to be a FA til 2014 for reasonable money over the next couple years it would be a better option than signing say Pavano for a 2 or 3 year deal.
Looking ahead to 2013 which would put Strasburg over 2 years from surgery and would still have Garza under team control along with Zimmermann. Werth, Zimmerman, and Harper in the lineup. Perhaps a big FA signing like Jered Weaver. Could be an interesting team
What the Rays need is BP and 1B/LF.
The Royals can send over a 1B and Outfielder.
I can see the Rangers passing on Garza if the cost is too high. They don’t NEED him that badly. With the current staff, they would be set on opening day. I’d like to see them finish up with Beltre and move on to new contracts for Cruz and Hamilton before the spring.
Garza would walk onto that Ranger staff as the undisputed Ace AND give them 200 innings a year. I dont’ think Garza has even hit his peak yet, just has been surrounded on the Rays by so many other young and outstanding pitchers that few have bothered to notice how well of a job he has done.
200IP aces with the tools he has? This market? How much is the washed up Pavano going to get and this guy has all the stuff, throws mid 90’s, is 8 years younger?
The Rangers pitching staff aside from Feliz is pretty bad. Lewis+Wilson are not going to be better than they were last year, and will most likely be worse, and Feldman+Hunter are just not good at all (FIP-wise). They do have awesome defense so it may not matter, but why chance it? Garza easily becomes the Rangers ace.
If they have Feliz-wilson-Lewis- Hunter-Holland is not great, but not too bad either. Especially considering they will bludgeon people with offense this year with their lineup: Andrus-Young-Kinsler-Hamilton-Cruz-Beltre-Moreland-Bourbon & C. If you add Vlad and shift Young to 1B…WOW!
Look ma, reporting something that isn’t happening as if it is!
Garza made 16 starts vs AL East teams last year. He also made 16 starts outside the division.
vs AL East: 5-6, 4.82 ERA, 19 HR, 1.86 K/BB, 1.44 WHIP, .278/.340/.494/.834
vs all others: 10-4, 3.07 ERA, 9 HR, 3.07 K/BB, 1.07 WHIP, .219/.276/.347/.623
This could be a coup for the Cubs unless the Rays are smart enough to realize his value to teams that don’t have to face the Red Sox, Yankees, Blue Jays and Orioles 72 times a season. All of those lineups figure to be even tougher to face this year.
Well done, I was just wondering about his splits when not facing all those good offenses. He is capable of some monster numbers.
Wittenmyer, like Bruce Levine, is just a mouthpiece for Jim Hendry and the Cubs organization. Take anything he reports with a strong grain of salt.
Except Hendry has a strict policy on not even discussing other team’s players with the media.
That is true.
Jim Hendry PLEASE get it done. We need something to cheer about in Chicago.
I’d even be willing to include Cashner in the package along with (allegedly) Lee and Chirinos. Let’s face it, the best case scenario with Cashner is that he becomes Garza. Garza is his ceiling, so why not skip the development and go straight to the 200-inning beast that is Matt Garza with still 3 years of team control?
NO c thats what cub fans want is something to happen right now right away because we havnt won a WS in so long but the hard truth is that we need to start becoming patient and using what we have in the minors just like the rays had done, and they made it to the WS… So no we dont want to give away our young talent for a guy who is young and talented but not AS young or as good when you consider the potential the players in our system have… and on top of that Cashner is three yrs younger than garza, can throw harder, really all he needs to do is finish developing his breaking ball and he will b better than garza… saying that garza is his limit is just wrong, if u look at garzas stats he started off terrible and after a few yrs worked himself up and became what he is, yes it would be nice to have garza but its not worth giving up everyone in our system that we have been building up for a while after hendry had to trade everyone away for players who were at the time all-stars and look where that lead us. Thats why we havnt won in so long, because it has been a continuous circle of trading away young home grown talent. we (the cubs) may not b able to compete or make it to the playoffs this yr or even the next, but developing our young players over these next few seasons will get us there… eventually…
Cashman deserves an F for this off seaseon!!! Really Bartolo Colon?!! LMAO
Trade some prospects, thats what they really are, prospects!
But…but…these arent just any prospects…these are FUTURE HALL OF FAME prospects!
Ha, just like Hughes was supposed to be the next Roger clemens. By the time these prospects are any good we can buy them back.
just like hughes was supposed to be the next clemens. We can buy them back if their any good. As you know pitching wins and the yanks have two quality pitchers at best. Maybe burnett will recover from the beating he took from his divorce. Still can’t compete with three quality starters.
Garza stays put this rumor is garbagggge
The rumor that they are close, or the rumor that they have had recent discussions? I’d say the first rumor is just an exaggeration of the second one.
all the above, i jsut dont think garza being traded has any steam to it .
It is almost inevitable. There are too many factors that point to him being traded at some point. It might not be to the Cubs, it might not happen before the season starts, but it will happen by the trade deadline.
This is great news!!! Now Garza and Zambrano can go to the psychiatrist together!
It’ll probably happen in July. Unless a team is willing to offer the Rays someone who can fill that 1B/DH hole RIGHT NOW, there’s really no logical reason to pull the trigger when there will be a handful of desperate teams around the trade deadline due to the severe lack of quality starters that were available this offseason.
Why are the Rays so eager to move this guy? Makes no sense.
Well they do have Hellickson… so they ned a spot in that rotation and Garza brings back the best haul. Also, no one says the Rays are eager, if they were this deal would be done. They’re sitting back and waiting to get what they ask for, so if the Cubs or someone else gives them that they’ll do it, otherwise it isn’t happening.
I hope it doesn’t happen, from the Cubs’ perspective. Pitching is actually our farm’s strong point; trading pieces for another pitcher–even one as good as Matt Garza–I’m just not sure it makes sense. And more to the point, it’s likely not enough to put us over the top since we would essentially have to leapfrog three teams (Reds, Cardinals and Brewers) for a chance at the division. Even though Garza would technically still be around when the Cubs could be serious contenders, he would be about to be a free agent and I imagine he’d be cheaper to acquire a year or two from now than he is at this exact moment anyway. There would also be more options both in trades and free agency to examine.
I’d rather them spend the next year waiting out their big contracts and the next year or two slowly easing some of these young guys into the roster to see what we really have. By 2012-2013, with a little luck from the farm and a lot of money off the books, the Cubs can look to be serious contenders again. If at least one of our young pitchers isn’t in our starting rotation near the end of this year, I’d consider it a huge disappointment.
Problem is the FA class of 2012 is not that strong, especially in the OF and 3b, both positions where we require upgrades and pitching is great if you have offensive. We don’t especially from the farm. Offensively, our prospects are gonna require more than a little luck in we’re relying on them to be contenders. Also, Prince Fielder’s (the best of next years FA class) is great offensively and all. I just don’t know if I want to watch another overpaid headcase play in Chicago.
if the Cubs trade for Garza they need to include Zambrano in the deal. Big Z and 2 mid-high end prospects and a lot of cash for Garza and a low level prospect