6:25pm: McCalvy hears that the holdup in the contract is not due to medical concerns (Twitter link). Meanwhile, Rosenthal hears from a source that Garza took his physical today, and the Brewers had been prepared to introduce him at a press conference (Twitter link).
6:13pm: Despite previous reports that the two sides have agreed to a four-year, $52MM contract, the Brewers announced (on Twitter) that there's no agreement in place with free agent right-hander Matt Garza. Talks are ongoing with the CAA client, according to the team's tweet.
Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel notes that he has never seen the Brewers issue this type of statement and wonders if there was an issue in Garza's physical (Twitter links). Assistant GM Gord Ash would not comment to MLB.com's Adam McCalvy as to whether or not there was an issue with Garza's physical (Twitter link). The initial tweet from FOX Sports' Ken Rosenthal did note that the deal was pending a physical at the time.
I wrote recently that the reported contract was a surprising coup for Milwaukee, as Garza was supposedly obtained for the same price the Cubs paid to land Edwin Jackson last winter. It's rare for teams to come out and explicitly deny that an agreement with a free agent has been reached, which only adds to the curiousity of this situation. Should this deal fall through due to medical reasons, it would be the second major multiyear deal to crumble after a physical returned unfavorable results. Coincidentally, the other such case — Grant Balfour — finalized a new deal with a new team today by inking a two-year pact with the Rays.
