Brewers + Matt Garza; 4 yrs, $50MM + incentives, 5th year option

[MVP2110]

 

Rotation of Lohse Gallardo Garza Peralta Estrada, not bad

 

Also wanna give credit where credit is due, this was broken by BuckyBrewer61 this morning before any blogger or writer so congrats on that!

[craigharmann]

Alrighty then.

[pogokat]

between having average production at first base, having Braun all year, and adding Garza, i think the Brewers are cleanly in the hunt...

 

well done.

[PrinceEatMeat]

YES! Love this signing. Reasonable dollar figure for a good pitcher and no draft pick compensation. Like the look of this rotation now. Very solid.

[RobDeer 45]

Whoa.....let me digest. Is this real life?

[jerichoholicninja]

Not really sure how to feel about this. Garza isn't going to make them a bonafide contender but dollars wise it's a decent deal.

[jjkoestler]

Seems like a steal for the Brewers. I like it.

[KCBrewerfan34]

I called this awhile back, now go get Butler from KC for a pitcher and we're in business.

[Fear The Chorizo]

woke up this morning wondering who was going to go out and get Garza now that Tanaka signed...Garza definitely has arm concerns which has to be the reason he's taking the same deal Edwin Jackson did last year for the Cubs, but if healthy it's a great signing for the Brewers. 13 Mil a season seems like quite a bit below market value for a pitcher like Garza. Also, it gives the younger arms vying for rotation spots on the Brewers added time to develop for the eventual departures of Gallardo and/or Lohse. If anything the Brewers may have some young pitching trade chips to sweeten a deal that unloads Weeks' salary during spring training, too.

[patrickgpe]

this really came out of nowhere. money seems reasonable. rotation is looking pretty nice now.

 

gallardo

garza

lohse

peralta

estrada.

 

w/ depth in nelson, thornburg, hellwig, smith

[Outlander]

Good scoop BuckyBrewer61 and in my opinion good signing by the Brewers. He is still youngish at 30 and doesn't cost them a draft pick. Will be interesting to see what they do with Thornburg, bullpen or let him start in AAA. I just don't see Roenicke moving Estrada to the pen and quite frankly he has earned a rotation spot.

[saget]

Will this cost them a draft pick?

[BuckyBrewer61]

Also wanna give credit where credit is due, this was broken by BuckyBrewer61 this morning before any blogger or writer so congrats on that!

 

I was thinking as I wrote it, how many times has some random guy posted a random unsubstantiated rumor that got everyone riled up and it actually turned out to be true? Never figured I'd do it. Glad it was true, pretty reasonable deal and no draft picks to give up!

[pogokat]

Will this cost them a draft pick?

 

that would be a no

[jerichoholicninja]

Will this cost them a draft pick?

 

No. Garza was traded mid-season.

[logan82]

This is kind of a weird move. I guess pitching depth doesn't hurt. I personally would have rather gone with Thornburg or some other young guy to see what they can do. Not sure what to think yet.

[brwrsfan]

Also wanna give credit where credit is due, this was broken by BuckyBrewer61 this morning before any blogger or writer so congrats on that!

 

I was thinking as I wrote it, how many times has some random guy posted a random unsubstantiated rumor that got everyone riled up and it actually turned out to be true? Never figured I'd do it. Glad it was true, pretty reasonable deal and no draft picks to give up!

 

Yeah, nice call. I kinda, sorta questioned you last night. I stand corrected. Nicely done.

[RobDeer 45]

Do you think this would be done to give them a vet so they could afford to trade someone like Yo? Or do you think this was more a move to give them depth and not rush the young guys? Or I guess option 3, give them more flexibility to put young guys in the pen and bring them along that way?

[jerichoholicninja]

To all those who are going to complain about not giving the young guys a shot remember this could be Gallardo's last year in Milwaukee, it would save a lot of money if his option wasn't picked up.

[Warning Track Power]

I am so glad I was so off in my early season prediction of 5 years $75 million for Garza. That additional year and $23 million would have been a significantly worse deal for the Brewers.

 

As I posted in the Transaction Forum, I think this will free up some young pitching to make a trade for Ike or another 1B now.

[torts]

To all those who are going to complain about not giving the young guys a shot remember this could be Gallardo's last year in Milwaukee, it would save a lot of money if his option wasn't picked up.

 

yep, and along that note, it would make sense if Garza's contract was backloaded for that very reason (Yo and Weeks next year, Aram in two years)

[JohnBriggs12]

Sean Halton is Garza's winter workout buddy. Maybe big Sean was planting stuff in his ear.

[splitterpfj]

Garza's good, Garza's 30, it's 4 years guaranteed, Garza gets hurt sometimes....hey, that sounds like a free agent starting pitcher to me!

 

I don't see a reason not to do this, the team knows the risks, and I think the billionaire in the room can decide if he's got the cash to cover it.

 

The Brewers' rotation suddenly has a chance to be very good, nobody will be asked to be "The Man", because there is depth now.

 

Every team starts with, "If our guys stay healthy...", and of course some years they do and some years they don't, but for the Brewers, "If our guys stay healthy", they should have a chance to win more often than not.

[fondybrewfan]

Our rotation won't be the best in the league but with the offense that we have it should be plenty good enough to keep us in contention.

 

I think Estrada gets the #5 spot just because he is more of a sure thing that Thornburg. We definitely should keep both Thornburg and Nelson because Gallardo and Lohse won't be around forever. But guys like Hellweg, Pena, Jungmann could/should be dangled around to see if we could get a better situation at 1st.

 

Unless the Brewers make way more money than we know; DM has to find some salary relief somewhere. Trading Rickie seems like the most likely scenario.

 

I really like the deal.

[reillymcshane]

Well, this was a surprise. It certainly makes us better in 2014. Can't argue there.

 

It gives Nelson another year in the minors, which is okay.

 

You can slot Thornburg into the bullpen (or Estrada), but remember that injuries almost always happen. To have another guy (or two) is critical. If we need a starter for whatever reason, I'm much happier bringing out Thornburg or Nelson than Figaro or Gorzelanny. Look what St. Louis did last year - despite losing Carpenter for the year, and parts of the season for Garcia and Westbrook - not to mention their closer - they used their depth to keep things going.

 

Now we need some young guys to continue to perform (Segura, Davis, Scooter) and some of the older guys to stay healthy (A-Ram, Braun).

 

I have to admit, it makes things really interesting for next year. I'm not sold this is a good team, but with some luck, they might just surprise.

 

The rotation could be solid - perhaps middle of the pack in the NL. No superstars, but just guys that go out and give you 6 innings and a mid-to-upper 3.00 ERA. Garza, Yo and Lohse are probably more #3 types, but as a group, they can succeed - especially if Peralta can join them. It's not a sexy bunch, but they could be solid.