Obsessive Matt Garza Trade Watch: Are the Cardinals in the Picture? Should the Indians Be?

Jul 12, 2013

You can get ready for the next wave of “Matt Garza’s last start as a Cub” pieces in the next 12 to 24 hours. He starts tomorrow night against the Cardinals.

Speaking of those Cardinals, Buster Olney says there is some “buzz in the industry” that the Rangers and the Cardinals are the teams most likely to land Matt Garza. The Rangers have been a given for a while now, but that’s the first of any kind of significant buzz I’d heard about the Cardinals. I suppose they could stand to replace Joe Kelly in the rotation with Garza (assuming they don’t believe Chris Carpenter will healthily return over the next month), but I’d be surprised if they’d be willing to commit serious prospects. In fact, I can’t help but wonder if Olney meant to type “Indians,” since they – like the Rangers – have been heavily connected to Garza. If it wasn’t a typo, though, you can forget any dreams of Shelby Miller or Oscar Tavares or even Carlos Martinez. They aren’t happening in a deal for Garza. Even still, the Cardinals have plenty of talent to be an attractive trading partner. Would they deal that talent to the Cubs, though?

Speaking of the Indians, Jerry Crasnick hears that they’re hoping to land a pitcher with multiple years of control left, rather than a rental like Garza. Well, I mean, sure. Wouldn’t most teams prefer to land a pitcher with more control than a rental? But those pitchers tend not to be as available (or good) as the rentals. Garza’s the arm that’s on the market, Indians. And he’s the best one.

Speaking of the Indians again, Ken Rosenthal doesn’t think it’s a good idea for them to go for broke on Garza. His rationale seems a bit thin, though, apparently resting on the failed Ubaldo Jimenez deal two years ago and the Tigers’ lead in the AL Central. To me, we’re talking about an organization with a fading fan base that clearly decided to “go for it” this offseason. They’re actually close to succeeding in that goal, despite a weak roster before those “go for it” moves. Are they going to stop now when the one thing they clearly need more than anything else is a rotation upgrade? No, maybe they don’t send the Cubs an over-the-top package, but they’ve got to be involved.

Speaking of the Garza price, Jon Morosi hears that it’s still quite high. He says it’s partly because the Cubs feel they should get a premium this early in July (i.e., because the receiving team is getting more starts).

I mentioned it in the Bullets this morning, but Keith Law believes the Cubs can get a top 100 prospect for Garza (presumably in a package), but not two. A top 100 and a couple organizational top 15s has always sounded about right to me.

Olney’s piece also discusses why the Garza heat seems to have died down in the last week, and it’s everything that you’d expect. Uncertainty associated with teams deciding whether to buy or sell and uncertainty associated with the possibly impending Biogenesis suspensions.

written by

Brett Taylor

Brett Taylor is the Lead Cubs Writer at Bleacher Nation, and you can find him on Twitter at @BleacherNation and on LinkedIn here. Brett is also the founder of Bleacher Nation, which opened up shop in 2008 as an independent blog about the Chicago Cubs. Later growing to incorporate coverage of other Chicago sports, Bleacher Nation is now one of the largest regional sports blogs on the web.

Obsessive Matt Garza Trade Watch: Are the Cardinals in the Picture? Should the Indians Be?

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