Comments on: Matt Garza already drawing trade interest from six teams

By: voight444

voight444 — Sat, 30 Jun 2012 15:15:02 +0000

how about Wandy Rod, with Houston. Think he would big a great pitchers for the Jays.

By: Cris E

Cris E — Tue, 26 Jun 2012 15:49:27 +0000

That was reportedly why MIN sent him to TAM too.

By: Kevin S.

Kevin S. — Mon, 25 Jun 2012 19:24:58 +0000

A) You’ve got no evidence of Garza being a head case besides the fact that he’s been traded twice. That’s one fewer times than Cliff Lee. I guess he’s really just an overrated asshole, too.

B) Are you insane? The Yankees don’t take on headcases? Have you paid *any* attention to the team over the past thirty-five years? They’ll take anybody if they think the talent will play on the field.

By: proudlycanadian

proudlycanadian — Mon, 25 Jun 2012 18:29:11 +0000

LOL! Haven’t you heard of the “home country discount”! He would be happy to play here even if it was only for half a season.

By: monarch897

monarch897 — Mon, 25 Jun 2012 17:47:01 +0000

This is exactly why Epstein kept him knowing that the Cubs weren’t going to contend. This guy and Dempster for that matter are going to cement the future for Theo and the Cubs.

Trade Bait!

By: spikeintn

spikeintn — Mon, 25 Jun 2012 17:23:29 +0000

Garza, LaHair, & W. Castillo to Rangers for Olt, Kirkman, Scheppers, Borbon, Perez, and Buckel. That’s four up-side pitching prospects, a useful piece in CF, and a multi-year All-Star at 3B for many years fr Chicago. Texas gets it’s first WS.

By: foreverchipper10

foreverchipper10 — Mon, 25 Jun 2012 17:23:22 +0000

Welcome to Atlanta where the players play.

By: rico7207

rico7207 — Mon, 25 Jun 2012 17:21:01 +0000

Not a chance. They do not take on head cases as teammates.

By: rico7207

rico7207 — Mon, 25 Jun 2012 17:19:26 +0000

Dempster will not play for minimum wage so Toronto is out.

By: rico7207

rico7207 — Mon, 25 Jun 2012 17:17:36 +0000

He’s a real head case and teammates do not get along. That’s why Tampa got rid of him ASAP!

By: rico7207

rico7207 — Mon, 25 Jun 2012 17:15:41 +0000

GARZA WON’T TAKE CANADIAN TIRE MONEY!

By: rico7207

rico7207 — Mon, 25 Jun 2012 17:13:43 +0000

Since it’s on a Cub’s roster!

By: rico7207

rico7207 — Mon, 25 Jun 2012 17:12:13 +0000

Same reason Tampa didn’t keep him. He’s a head case, and selfish.

By: bougin89

bougin89 — Mon, 25 Jun 2012 14:42:05 +0000

Agreed. He kind of reminds me of Yovanni Gallardo. For years we have been wondering when he will take the step and become the ace we need him to be but he just never seems to take the next step. That being said he is still extremely valuable and a good #2 pitcher for us especially when he has his stuff working.

By: paperlions

paperlions — Mon, 25 Jun 2012 14:14:31 +0000

When you are going to finish 8 games back, 2 games don’t matter.

By: seandconner

seandconner — Mon, 25 Jun 2012 13:58:41 +0000

to the guy who asked does 2 games matter? It sure does when you are trying to get home field or when you are trying to clinch so you can rest your stars an extra day or two. Can you really put a price tag on a championship?

By: pisano

pisano — Mon, 25 Jun 2012 12:26:17 +0000

Hell no, besides them not needing him, he’s awful to watch. This guy spits more than he pitches, when he was with the Rays and was pitching I wouldn’t watch his starts, it’s just disgusting to watch his incessant spitting.

By: lax12345

lax12345 — Mon, 25 Jun 2012 00:44:26 +0000

Do the Yankees need him?

By: proudlycanadian

proudlycanadian — Sun, 24 Jun 2012 23:15:58 +0000

The Cubs pitcher that would help the Jays the most is Dempster and he is on the DL.

By: Old Gator

Old Gator — Sun, 24 Jun 2012 22:54:07 +0000

I don't suppose they'd be interested in Tweeter anymore. Sigh. And the Feesh don't have all that much on the farm these days, either. Maybe Theo needs some tractors and ploughs?

By: buffalo65

buffalo65 — Sun, 24 Jun 2012 22:13:06 +0000

I am the real Kevin s. the jays will get some pitching help soon and they will contend, but it won’t be with Garza.

By: rooney24

rooney24 — Sun, 24 Jun 2012 20:34:57 +0000

Have to wonder if the guy might be a pain behind the scenes, if these teams keep trading him. I seem to recall he had some issues with the coaching staff in his time in Minnesota, although he may have just been young and stubborn at that point.

By: sabatimus

sabatimus — Sun, 24 Jun 2012 19:44:02 +0000

Garza isn’t is consistent enough to be a top starter, but he’s certainly better than a #4. The man has some SCARY stuff when he’s on.

By: xavier46

xavier46 — Sun, 24 Jun 2012 19:26:08 +0000

Kevin S. – “incredibly likely” that they will be within 2 games of a playoff spot? Wow.

The last time they finished within 2 games of a playoff spot was 1993 (when they won the east). They are currently in last place.

I’m not using any sabermetrics to back up my argument, nor am I trying to hammer the Jays – I do not see forsee a situation where they finish within 2 games of a playoff spot, with or without Garza. The Yankees, Angels, and Rangers are not slowing down. When (maybe if) the Red Sox get healthy, they should rise. Who knows about the O’s. The Rays have proven they can’t be counted out.

<20% chance the Jays finish within 2 games.

Yikes.

By: paperlions

paperlions — Sun, 24 Jun 2012 19:24:52 +0000

To sum up, the best case scenario is that Garza would increase the likelihood that Toronto could be in the play-in game by about 10%….meaning they would have about a 5% better chance of making the playoffs (an actual series of games) than without Garza. What would give up for that 5%?

If they keep him all of 2013, he will cost about $15M…and after that they can get some compensation only if they make Garza a substantial offer (= to the average of the 125 richest MLB contracts) and he turns it down, and teams now will only get sandwich round picks as compensation.

By: Kevin S.

Kevin S. — Sun, 24 Jun 2012 18:57:52 +0000

I find it incredibly likely that the Blue Jays will be within two wins of a playoff spot. As of right now, coolstandings has every non-Yankee team in the ALE with expW between 83.4 and 84.8, with the Angels at 87.1. You don’t think that the Jays boosting their expW from 84.7 to 86.7 would be incredibly valuable? Eyeballing things, those two wins probably give the Jays an 8-10% boost in playoff probability, much moreso than adding two wins would for an average team in an average playoff-leverage situation. Combine that with the fact that Garza is likely to provide a context-neutral surplus over his contract for the next year and a half and acquiring him now allows his new team to still recoup draft picks after the 2013 season, and I think there’s plenty of reason for a contender with a hole on its pitching staff to chase Garza.

By: paperlions

paperlions — Sun, 24 Jun 2012 18:31:56 +0000

Yes, but will those 2 wins really mean anything (i.e. will they be the difference between making and missing the playoffs)? Probably not. The Blue Jays are a team that will always have to build through the minors and supplement with FA signings, it probably doesn’t make a lot of sense for them to give up quality prospects for a player that won’t be cheap and will be a FA after 2013.

By: Kevin S.

Kevin S. — Sun, 24 Jun 2012 18:15:05 +0000

For example, I think it would make a lot of sense for the Blue Jays to be willing to go beyond the equal-value price on Garza if the auction price is driven up. Matt Garza would probably be a 1.5-2 win upgrade over, say, Henderson Alvarez over the rest of the season, and those wins would be pretty important to the Jays.

By: Kevin S.

Kevin S. — Sun, 24 Jun 2012 18:11:00 +0000

It depends on the specific team, but ERA-lgERA analysis ignores the fact that Garza typically gives you about 200 innings per year, which is more than the average starter. There’s a reason he’s averaged over 3 fWAR/season the past four years. Depending on where your team is on the win curve, it could absolutely be worthwhile to give up a blue-chip prospect for him.

By: bronco1991

bronco1991 — Sun, 24 Jun 2012 18:07:11 +0000

With the injuries in the jays lineup AA should be looking into garza. If we wanna stay competitive in the al east we need pitching help