My fingers are bleeding. Not really. But, you know.
Today, on the heels of the news that the Cubs have (probably) traded Ryan Dempster to the Braves for young pitcher Randall Delgado, Jim Bowden reports that the Cubs and Dodgers are discussing a Matt Garza deal, which would include top pitching prospect Zach Lee coming to the Cubs as part of a package.
This doesn’t mean a deal is particularly close. After all, Garza just left his last start with a triceps cramp, and has yet to demonstrate that he’s fully healthy. He’s scheduled to start on Friday, so it’s possible that the Dodgers will want to wait to see how he looks then before pulling the trigger. And the Cubs, too, might want to wait to see whether the market improves for Garza in the wake of the Dempster deal.
I’ve always maintained that I don’t love the Dodgers as a fit for the Cubs in Garza talks. While I do think Lee, 20, is a quality pitching prospect, of the kind you’d want to get in a Garza deal, I’m not crazy about the other potential pieces in the deal – that is to say, I’m not crazy about the rest of the Dodgers’ system. And, as we just saw in the Dempster deal, the market is obviously VERY strong for sellers. Hell, Dempster just netted a prospect of Lee’s caliber, so how much more should the Cubs be getting for Garza (assuming health)? A lot more.
Ah, the week before the Trade Deadline. Fun stuff.