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

[Patrick425]

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.

 

Not to get off topic...but Attanasio is not a billionaire.

[TooLiveBrew]

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.

This sums up my feelings on the deal. Thrilled that there looks like there'll be no 1st-rounder forfeiting this year.

[BarneyStinston]

I'm not sold on the possibility of Garza or this rotation staying fully healthy for the year. Plus, its a bit concerning that Garza had an ERA over 5 in September when Texas was chasing a playoff spot. Maybe he's just not as good against the AL. Still, he's probably better than the other free agent pitching options.

[Roderick]

 

Not to get off topic...but Attanasio is not a billionaire.

 

He was worth $700M in 2012 and the market has went up quite a bit since then. Even the value of the Brewers will have increased. I could see that he is technically worth a billion now easy, just not liquid.

 

I have got to think that the Brewers are looking to deal a couple of their fringe MLB starters to get a young 3B or 1B. Or package their value with Weeks' negative value to free up some cash to pay for Garza. Maybe someone in the AL east needs to make a move now just to show they are making moves...

[Raw Biz]

I just got back from the suite-holder's luncheon. I saw Doug get a phone call at like 12:15 and was just joking that he was making a deal. Turns out I was right. That was the first question asked to him and he basically said there's lots of rumors that get started but they're not all completely true. There is a process to things, like physicals. But yeah, I really like the signing.

[TooLiveBrew]

I'm not sold on the possibility of Garza or this rotation staying fully healthy for the year. Plus, its a bit concerning that Garza had an ERA over 5 in September when Texas was chasing a playoff spot. Maybe he's just not as good against the AL. Still, he's probably better than the other free agent pitching options.

He has a career 3.48 ERA in the postseason, which is more innings than he threw in Sept. 2013. Does that re-set his 'clutch' back to medium?

[Fear The Chorizo]

I'm not sold on the possibility of Garza or this rotation staying fully healthy for the year.

 

No rotation stays fully healthy for the year...heck, it's January - we don't even know what the rotation is. To me, the Brewers signed the best FA pitcher available that doesn't cost them a draft pick, and at a reasonable price. Solid acquisition that fills a big need on their MLB roster.

[SRB]

Wow, great deal for a pitcher as good as Garza. This is a guy the Rangers traded Mike Olt, Justin Grimm, CJ Edwards, and Neil Ramirez for (last year), and we got him without giving up a draft pick for basically the same contract Jeff Suppan got.

[DuWayne Steurer]

Given the money that some of these other guys are getting, this is almost a steal. I really like this move. No draft pick comp, he's a top of the rotation guy.....there is almost no reason to not like this move.

 

I know the argument will be that "are the Brewers really in 'go for it' mode?" But as long as you have a guy like Ryan Braun in his prime years, you almost HAVE to try to put a team capable of contending around him.

[Hitman_Hart]

I just came here to say that I love this signing.

[DR28]

I LOVE THIS DEAL!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

I'll take a rotation of Gallardo/Lohse/Garza/Peralta/Estrada to go along with one of the best O's in the NL... We could be in for big things this year!

 

Have to imagine there's more moves to come?

 

I still think Ike Davis will be a Brewers come Opening Day... This signing might make that happen.

[djoctagone]

i can't find where i read it, but somebody reported that garza was in milwaukee today for his physical. if accurate, i wonder if he'll stick around through sunday and appear at brewers on deck?

[gregmag]

Wow. I was not expecting this, but then I haven't been paying much attention. I echo everyone's positive reactions. Nelson will end up starting some games for this team, and behind Nelson I think there's a considerable drop-off in likely success. I've been very skeptical of the idea that the Brewers can contend, and I still am, but we've managed to fill most of the obvious holes. 1b and (IMHO) 2b are still question marks, but we have options in both cases that will almost certainly improve over last year. If Garza had cost a draft pick I'd be annoyed, and if Thornburg was clearly ready I'd be puzzled. But this looks like a good pickup.

[igor67]

Even without accounting for inflation this is a better contract than we gave Wolf or Suppan. Given the actual inflation happening and the timing right after the Tanaka signing It's hard to believe he signed for that little. I'd have loved this if paired with getting Hart back, but it's hard not to think that there wasn't enough money for both. I'd also tend to concur with whoever pointed to the timing of Gallardo's deal. I still have some reservations about opportunities for young guys to make their mark, but many thought Thornburg was destined for the pen anyway and this could easily be seen as addressing to areas at once. And his definitely fits the bill for the move no one saw coming (OK 1 person).

[SRB]

If you think about it, over the last two offseasons the Brewers have gotten 7 years of #2/#3 starting pitchers for a mere $85 million (plus the Lohse draft pick). That is pretty remarkable/smart. I guess underrated pitchers with bad goatees are the new market inefficiency.

 

Obviously Tanaka has higher upside, but does anyone expect him to be much better than a #2/#3 caliber pitcher? He cost $175 million for 7 years.

[brewers4eric]

I was floored when I first read about the signing on MLB Trade Rumors. Our rotation will be solid, but not spectacular. Most teams will use at least eight starters during a season and I think we've got some nice options for slots one through eight.

 

A stretch of poor pitching knocked us out of contention in May 2013. With Garza, Lohse, and Gallardo in the rotation, I don't think we'll be quite as prone to poor stretches like that in the coming year. Plus, it might allow us to put one of the younger guys in the bullpen. I think we need to identifiy someone in the pen that can get us a strikeout when we need it and bridge the early innings to Henderson. Maybe Thornburg, Nelson, Smith or Estrada could be that guy?

 

At any rate, I'm more optimistic for the 2014 season than I was this morning.

[DR28]

If you think about it, over the last two offseasons the Brewers have gotten 7 years of #2/#3 starting pitchers for a mere $85 million (plus the Lohse draft pick). That is pretty remarkable/smart. I guess underrated pitchers with bad goatees are the new market inefficiency.

 

Obviously Tanaka has higher upside, but does anyone expect him to be much better than a #2/#3 caliber pitcher? He cost $175 million for 7 years.

 

I agree... I don't see Tanaka anywhere near the pitcher Darvish is.

[3and2Fastball]

Well count me in as being certainly happy about this signing. Good deal on a pitcher who isn't over-the-hill and has potential plus he knows the NL Central hitters well

[DR28]

I was floored when I first read about the signing on MLB Trade Rumors. Our rotation will be solid, but not spectacular. Most teams will use at least eight starters during a season and I think we've got some nice options for slots one through eight.

 

A stretch of poor pitching knocked us out of contention in May 2013. With Garza, Lohse, and Gallardo in the rotation, I don't think we'll be quite as prone to poor stretches like that in the coming year. Plus, it might allow us to put one of the younger guys in the bullpen. I think we need to identifiy someone in the pen that can get us a strikeout when we need it and bridge the early innings to Henderson. Maybe Thornburg, Nelson, Smith or Estrada could be that guy?

 

At any rate, I'm more optimistic for the 2014 season than I was this morning.

 

Estrada will be the #5 SP... I could see Thornburg in the bullpen as 7th or 8th inning guy.

[TigerUppercut]

His current velocity is where Gallardo's used to be. Ground ball rate scares me a bit, but he managed just fine at Wrigley. Funny, I got a call from my ticket rep 15 minutes after the deal became public and this was enough to get me off the fence. It's not organization building but Brewer fans have shown they don't want to wait per the declining ticket sales. Somewhere, both Monty and TheCrew's head just exploded.

[igor67]

Given history I like the idea of signing starting pitchers to below market deals and spending higher draft picks on hitters as a strategy more than hoping we'll figure out how to magically draft and develop them reliably somehow.

 

It's hard to pull the data together rigorously but looking back I see a lot more poor pitch framers in Garza's history than good pitch framers. In fact Pierzinski was horrible with Texas last year and one could possibly attribute some of his ERA uptick with the Rangers to that, though it looks mostly like a spike in BABIP. Regardless it gives me a little bit of optimism that he might pull of something really exciting for us this year.

[danzig6767]

Even without accounting for inflation this is a better contract than we gave Wolf or Suppan. Given the actual inflation happening and the timing right after the Tanaka signing It's hard to believe he signed for that little.

 

That's the surprising thing to me. With all of the new money in baseball, salary inflation has risen dramatically and thus 13 million per today is a lot different than 13 million per only just a few years ago.

 

Granted, Garza comes with some health concerns, but i sure expected him to get paid more than he got, especially since draft pick compensation wasn't attached to signing him.

[Bruce Ciskie]

I don't post much, but I wanted to say this is a really, really good signing.

[Fear The Chorizo]

I'd argue that signing a free agent starting pitcher to a deal that:

 

1 - doesn't cripple or hamstring the organization financially

2 - doesn't pay said pitcher beyond his age 34 season

3 - doesn't cost the organization a draft pick, and

4 - improves the overall talent on the MLB roster

 

is absolutely organization building.

[BillScottCanRake]

I think this is a solid signing. Like Greg, I am not sure this signing makes the Brewers a contender, but it does make them better. And there is nothing wrong with the Brewers being better this year than last.

 

And, if nothing else, I've gain a signature from this transaction. (Thanks SRB)