Cubs, Rangers Getting Closer On Garza Deal
The Matt Garza rumors have picked up steam in the past couple of days, with ESPN's Jim Bowden stating Wednesday that there's an 80 percent chance he's traded before his next start. On Tuesday, we learned that the Cubs have a slight preference toward pitching prospects as opposed to position players and that the Rangers are unwilling to part with Martin Perez to acquire Garza. Here's the latest on Garza…
- Jon Heyman of CBS Sports writes that while the Rangers are "prominently involved," other teams are still in the mix for Garza at this point.
- Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports tweets that Class A right-hander C.J. Edwards is indeed in play in trade talks. Edwards, 21, has a 1.83 ERA with 11.8 K/9 and 3.3 BB/9 in 93 1/3 innings for Class A Hickory this season.
- One official tells Rosenthal that the Cubs and Rangers are "getting closer" on a Garza trade (Twitter link). Rosenthal adds that third base prospect Mike Olt is "possibly" in play, but the two sides are discussing prospects from multiple levels.
Earlier Updates
- The Cubs are asking teams for their "last and best offers" for Garza, tweets ESPN's Buster Olney, and other clubs think he's thrown his last pitch as a Cub. In a separate pair of tweets, Olney adds that while the Rangers don't want to move Perez, they have other pitching prospects such as C.J. Edwards and Luke Jackson that could be of interest to the Cubs. Jackson ranked as the team's No. 6 prospect prior to the season according to Baseball America, while Edwards ranked 14th. Both have had strong minor league seasons.
- Rosenthal writes that the Rangers have the most motivation to acquire Garza and have had extensive talks with the Cubs. He adds that the Dodgers are still in the mix even after acquiring Ricky Nolasco from the Marlins.
- If the Rangers don't acquire Garza, rival executives see the Cardinals, Red Sox, Diamondbacks and Dodgers as the likeliest destinations, according to Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link).
- As reported earlier by Troy Renck of the Denver Post, Rockies owner Dick Monfort issued a letter to season-ticket holders saying the team wouldn't surrender top prospects for rentals. That, presumably, officially takes them out of the running for Garza's services.
Heyman Talks Twins Trade Chips
While earlier reports have said that the Twins are likely to trade longtime first baseman Justin Morneau, the 2006 AL MVP isn't drawing significant interest, according to Jon Heyman of CBS Sports. Multiple teams that make sense as landing spots are "cool to the idea" at this time, Heyman writes.
The Rangers and Yankees prefer to focus their efforts on acquiring right-handed bats. The Orioles could use an extra bat, but they don't want to pay the $6MM remaining on the final year of Morneau's six-year, $80MM contract. ESPN's Jim Bowden recently connected the Rays and Pirates to Morneau, but Heyman says the Pirates "aren't heavily involved yet," and the financial element is a deterrent to the Rays as well.
Twins-connected sources tell Heyman there's almost no chance that Josh Willingham will be dealt, and closer Glen Perkins is likely to stay as well. The southpaw told Heyman over the All-Star break: "I'd love to be part of the future. And from what I gather, [the Twins] feel the same." Even Kevin Correia, halfway through the first season of a two-year, $10MM deal, doesn't sound likely to be dealt at this time, according to Heyman's contacts.
Multiple Teams Interested In Bud Norris
The Rangers are in on the Astros' Bud Norris as a back-up plan if they fail to acquire Matt Garza from the Cubs, Jeff Passan of Yahoo! Sports reports via Twitter. Passan adds that the Pirates, Dodgers, Blue Jays and Giants are all interested in Norris.
Norris has been one of the most talked-about trade chips in July, with an executive telling Danny Knobler of CBSSports.com last week that he could be the next starter to be moved. Norris may not provide as immediate of an impact as Garza, but with a paltry $3MM salary this season and two years of team control remaining after this year, he offers significant long-term value. According to Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com, the Astros' have set the high price of two top prospects in exchange for the hurler.
Norris, 28, has a 3.63 ERA in 114 innings this year, a mark that would be the best of his career. Though his strikeout rate has fallen significantly this season, he's cut his walk and home run rates. The right hander told MLB.com's Brian McTaggart in June that he hasn't discussed a long-term deal with the Astros and understands that a deal may be on the horizon.
Orix Buffaloes To Sign Brad Mills
11:12am: Mills agreed to sign with the Orix Buffaloes, MLBTR has learned.
11:01am: Southpaw Brad Mills left the Rangers organization to play in Japan, tweeted Drew Davison of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram last night. Bernie Pleskoff of RotoWire first tweeted Mills had left the Triple-A All-Star game after requesting his release, also noting the likelihood of him going to Japan. He had joined the club via a March waiver claim from the Angels, but was immediately outrighted to Triple-A. Despite a stint on the DL for elbow tightness, Mills made 17 starts this year.
Mills, 28, posted a 3.87 ERA, 6.7 K/9, 2.7 BB/9, and 0.83 HR/9 in 97 2/3 innings this year. He was drafted by the Blue Jays in the fourth round in 2007 out of the University of Arizona, a round which also produced big leaguers Darwin Barney, Corey Kluber, Charlie Furbush, and Derek Norris. Mills pitched in the Majors briefly in each of the past four seasons, which included a December 2011 trade to the Angels for catcher Jeff Mathis.
Bowden’s Latest: Garza, Rox, Rios, Morneau, Perkins
The trade deadline is just two weeks away, and with the All-Star Game in the rear-view mirror, Jim Bowden of ESPN and MLB Network Radio writes that the market will pick up rapidly beginning Friday. Here are some highlights from the highly informative article penned by the former GM of the Reds, Expos and Nationals (ESPN Insider required and recommended)…
- Bowden hears there's an 80 percent chance that Matt Garza will be traded before his next scheduled start (Monday or Tuesday of next week). The Rangers, Red Sox and Diamondbacks are still involved, He describes the D-backs as "dark horses," adding that their odds in the Garza sweepstakes would increase if they were willing to part with left-hander David Holmberg.
- The Rockies could also be interested in Garza, but they're not clear-cut buyers right now, and the prospective cost is prohibitive to them. If they were to sell, Rafael Betancourt and Matt Belisle could be had. Michael Cuddyer could be moved, but only if Colorado is "blown away."
- The White Sox have been "extremely disappointed" with offers for Alex Rios thus far. Bowden feels that offers will improve as the deadline draws closer.
- The Justin Morneau era in Minnesota is coming to an end, and the Twins are prepared to trade the former MVP, according to Bowden. The Rays, Pirates and Yankees are said by Bowden to be possible destinations for Morneau.
- The Cardinals, Reds, Dodgers and Braves have all inquired on Twins closer Glen Perkins and been turned away. Those four teams are all monitoring the health of Jesse Crain as well.
- The Yankees are trying to use Phil Hughes, Joba Chamberlain and catching prospect J.R. Murphy to acquire a bat but have had no luck thus far. None of those players figure to interest the Twins in regards to Morneau, Bowden adds, given the impending free agency of Hughes and Chamberlain and the presence of Joe Mauer behind the plate for the Twins.
Matt Garza Rumors: Tuesday
On January 8th, 2011, the previous Cubs front office led by GM Jim Hendry finalized a trade that brought Matt Garza (and Fernando Perez and Zach Rosscup) to Chicago from the Rays for Chris Archer, Hak-Ju Lee, Robinson Chirinos, Sam Fuld, and Brandon Guyer. At the time, ESPN's Buster Olney heard that Andrew Friedman and the Rays "didn't get much in the way of high-end prospects; more depth type guys than impact." Archer, 24, seems ready to challenge that evaluation as a member of the Rays' rotation, while Lee, a 22-year-old shortstop, was knocking on the door of the Majors until a knee injury ended his season in April. It's clear now the Cubs gave up a huge haul to acquire three years of Garza; now their new regime is marketing the remaining two to three months of his services to recoup as much young talent as possible. The latest:
- Jon Heyman of CBS Sports echoes Sullivan's earlier report that the Rangers aren't willing to include Martin Perez in a trade for Garza. The Red Sox are said to be "thinking about" Garza and would be a major threat if they entered the fray, according to Heyman. Boston has many pitching prospects acquired by Theo Epstein during his time as the team's GM. The Diamondbacks are in the mix as well, though they may prefer Jake Peavy. The Cubs are likely to place more emphasis on ceiling than proximity to the Major Leagues, according to Heyman, with a slight preference for pitching as opposed to position players.
Earlier Updates
- The Rangers, Cardinals, Pirates, Indians, Blue Jays, and Dodgers "are the strongest pursuers" with a handful of other teams showing at least cursory interest in Garza, writes David Kaplan of CSNChicago.com. A handful of club executives who spoke to Kaplan consider Garza a very strong No. 3 starter, for whom the Cubs have an "exceptionally high" asking price. Kaplan adds that the Rangers and Blue Jays "are both deciding how far they want to go to acquire Garza." Kaplan's baseball personnel experts feel the Cubs will come close but fall short of the Brewers' Zack Greinke package from last summer, which consisted of shortstop Jean Segura and pitchers Johnny Hellweg and Ariel Pena. Complicating that comparison is the fact that Segura raised his stock considerably this year; at the time of the deal, Baseball America ranked him 43rd among prospects and ESPN's Keith Law had him outside of his top 50.
- Baseball America's midseason top 50 prospects list came out last week. Prospects in the 35-50 range who play for potential Garza suitors include Joc Pederson of the Dodgers, Anthony Ranaudo and Garin Cecchini of the Red Sox, Alen Hanson of the Pirates, Aaron Sanchez of the Blue Jays, Mike Olt of the Rangers, Kolten Wong of the Cardinals, and Adam Eaton of the Diamondbacks. Kaplan notes that the Rangers are "thought to be dangling" Olt, a third baseman. A lot of the position players named here either seem unlikely to be traded or aren't great fits for the Cubs, who might prefer to get a pitcher as the headliner.
- The personnel heads who spoke to Joel Sherman of the New York Post picture Garza going to the Rangers, who have the need and the goods to make a deal. 22-year-old southpaw Martin Perez "could be a key element for the Cubs to move Garza to Texas," writes Sherman. The Rangers are not going to give up Perez, writes MLB.com's T.R. Sullivan. He names Neil Ramirez, Carlos Pimentel, Leury Garcia, and Luis Sardinas as more realistic possibilities.
Quick Hits: Wilpon, Rios, Mozeliak, Blue Jays
National League All-Star starter Matt Harvey has become a well-known name around baseball…though not necessarily a well-known face. Harvey personally explored his relative anonymity in a comedy bit tonight on The Late Show With Jimmy Fallon (YouTube link). If it makes Harvey feel better, I rarely hear, "Hey, are you Mark Polishuk from MLB Trade Rumors?!" when I'm strolling around New York. Here's some news from around baseball on the eve of the All-Star Game…
- Jeff Wilpon promised that the Mets are willing to spend in 2014, the team COO said in an interview on WFAN radio (and partially transcribed by Newsday's Neil Best). The Mets will be helped when the Johan Santana and Jason Bay contracts expire this winter, which will by themselves free up $43.625MM in payroll space. "We haven't set a payroll for next year, but I can tell you we're ready to invest with those big contracts coming off the books," Wilpon said. "We have the money to invest. We're going to invest it prudently. Sandy [Alderson] is going to set a path."
- The Rangers could avoid giving up top prospects for White Sox right fielder Alex Rios, depending on how much of Rios' contract Texas is willing to eat, ESPN Dallas' Richard Durrett writes. Rios is owed roughly $4.85MM for the rest of 2013, $12.5MM in 2014 and a $13.5MM club option for 2015 that can be bought out for $1MM. The Rangers are one of several teams interested in acquiring Rios, though his trade stock has dipped due to a six-week slump.
- “A lot of teams you think might normally would be breaking things up aren’t,” Cardinals GM John Mozeliak told Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. “There just aren’t a lot of players that are truly available. That could change. That’s my observation today.” The Cardinals are known to be interested in acquiring starting pitching and have recently been connected to Matt Garza, though the Cards aren't too keen to trade within the NL Central and are unlikely to make a deal that would cost them one of their top prospects.
- Jose Bautista, Edwin Encarnacion and Brett Cecil all tell Sportsnet's Shi Davidi that the Blue Jays already have the talent to turn their season around. Bautista, for one, doesn't think GM Alex Anthopoulos necessarily needs to make any further roster additions. “Alex is not out on the field playing for us, we’re totally capable of playing a lot better baseball than we’ve shown, we just need to play better as a team,” Bautista said. If the Jays don't make any moves, Bautista "wouldn’t look too much into it" since Anthopoulos “made plenty of moves in the off-season to make our team the best team that he could put on the field.”
- The three prospects acquired by the Nationals in the Michael Morse trade have performed well for Washington thus far, MASNsports.com's Byron Kerr observes. Right-handers A.J. Cole and Blake Treinen have pitched well at high A-ball and Double-A, respectively, while southpaw Ian Krol reached the Majors and delivered a 1.80 ERA, 13 strikeouts and just one walk over 15 relief innings for the Nats.
- Chase Lambin turned 34 years last week and has played 12 years of professional baseball in the minors and in Japan, but the veteran has still yet to reach the Major Leagues. Kent Babb of the Washington Post profiles Lambin, who currently plays for the Royals' Triple-A affiliate.
- The Mets' infamous long-long-term deferred contract with Bobby Bonilla is actually a pair of contracts that will pay the retired slugger $42MM between 2004 and 2035, CBS Sports' Jon Heyman reports. While the Orioles are paying part of Bonilla's ongoing salary, the Mets are solely responsible for another 25-year deferred payment plan, this one to Bret Saberhagen. The former two-time Cy Young Award winner has received $250K per year from the Mets since 2004.
Garza Likely To Be Traded This Week
9:54pm: ESPN's Jim Bowden hears that there is an 80% chance Garza is dealt before his next start (Twitter link). The Cubs have an off-day on Thursday and Jeff Samardzija is scheduled to start on Friday, so Garza's next start could come on Saturday at the earliest. Bowden also listed the Diamondbacks as a possible Garza suitor, the first time we've heard that team in the mix, as well as the usual suspects of the Rangers, Nationals, Red Sox, Rockies and (to a lesser degree) the Indians.
12:51pm: Kaplan is hearing that Garza will be moved by Saturday, though the Cubs will still make sure that someone meets their price as opposed to rushing a trade. One AL scout tells Kaplan that the Cubs are in a "phenomenal spot to land a tremendous deal" because Garza has looked so strong of late (Twitter links).
12:46pm: Following his recent string of success, teams are willing to engage Cubs president Theo Epstein and GM Jed Hoyer in serious trade talks over the All-Star break, according to David Kaplan of CSN Chicago. A former general manager told Kaplan on Sunday that it's become "crystal clear" to other teams that Garza is at 100 percent.
A second "significant industry source" told Kaplan that the Rangers, Blue Jays and Indians are all involved in talks for Garza, but that the Cardinals are the dark horse in the pursuit of Garza. St. Louis saved loads of money by letting Albert Pujols walk, and their farm system is rife with high-upside prospects. Hoyer and Epstein will have no problem dealing Garza within the division, writes Kaplan, though he cautions that the Cardinals themselves (as well as the Pirates) may be hesitant to deal top prospects to a division rival.
Garza, 29, has a 3.17 ERA with 7.9 K/9, 2.5 BB/9 and a 39.8 percent ground-ball rate in 71 innings for the Cubs this season, his final year before free agency.
Rosenthal On DeJesus, Encarnacion, Rangers, Braves
Here's the latest from FOX Sports' Ken Rosenthal:
- The Cubs aren't necessarily planning to trade David DeJesus, who they have signed through 2014, but they'll listen to offers. DeJesus could be a trade candidate in August, after he recovers from a shoulder injury.
- While the Rangers' 2011 decision to trade Chris Davis for Koji Uehara has recently received plenty of attention, Rosenthal notes that the Athletics also have a what-could-have-been in their recent history as well. The A's claimed Edwin Encarnacion from the Blue Jays in November 2010, then non-tendered him, and he ended up back with the Jays. Since then, he's hit 84 home runs.
- The Rangers might be interested in Michael Cuddyer if the Rockies wished to trade him, Rosenthal notes. The Rangers are reportedly on the lookout for a righty hitter, and Cuddyer would fit the bill.
- The Braves aren't looking for a top starter, Rosenthal writes, but they'd like to augment their bullpen.
Garza Informed He’ll Likely Be Traded
11:35pm: Garza denies being informed he will likely be traded, MLB.com's Carrie Muskat tweets.
3:30pm: The Cubs have informed Matt Garza he will likely be traded after contract talks failed to produce an extenstion, reports Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com. The Rangers and Indians, according to Heyman, are clearly interested in Garza while the Red Sox are waiting upon some clarity on the return of injured starter Clay Buchholz. The Cardinals, meanwhile, are believed to be a stealth player for the fifth-ranked free agent on MLBTR's 2014 Free Agent Power Rankings. Yesterday, we learned the Blue Jays are "front runners" in the Garza trade derby, but Heyman writes there is little to no evidence, at the moment, they are actively involved.
Heyman reports the hangup in the negotiations between Garza and the Cubs is over the average annual value of the deal. Just last night, Garza still pegged the odds of returning to Chicago as 50/50.