Like us on Facebook here

Thursday, July.25, 2013

Matt Garza was the big fish in this year’s trade deadline. There were plenty of teams that him had him on their radar, and they scouted every game he pitched for the Cubs this season. He won six games for them this season with a 3.17 ERA in 71 innings pitched to go along with 62 strike outs and 20 walks. He has a WHIP of 1.14 and has only given up eight home runs on the season. Garza is holding the opposition to a .229 batting average, while righties only hit .224 when facing him. He is good when runners are in scoring position, as indicated by teams just managing a .245 average. The Rangers got the pitcher they wanted, and he should bring some stability to their rotation.

By Chris Lacey (Lead Baseball Columnist/Minority Website Owner) Follow @aecanada12

The Chicago Cubs were trying to find the perfect trade partner this season with them having the premier starting pitcher available this trade deadline.

Matt Garza was the best pitcher on the market for teams who needed help with their rotation could acquire. The one caveat is that those teams would have to give up very good prospects in their farm system to obtain his services. 

Matt Garza Career Highlights – Parental Guidance Is Advised

Justin Grimm was one of the two pitchers that the Rangers sent the Cubs way. He did pitch in the rotation for Texas this season, but did not have much success. He threw 89 innings with a 6.37 ERA and also surrendered 15 HRs for them with a 1.65 WHIP. Since he is going the NL, those numbers should improve with the weaker line ups.

Garza has been auditioning for teams ever since he made his first start this season for the Cubs. Garza has won six games with a 3.17 ERA in 71 innings pitched. He has struck out 62 batters and just walked 20 batters while allowing eight home runs.

The right-hander is holding his opponents to a .229 batting average, while righties have a .224 average. He is very solid when runners are in scoring position, as indicated by teams just hitting for .245 in 53 at-bats.

He does have some problems with runners in scoring position and two outs with teams hitting .286 against him in 28 at-bats.

Chicago had entertained the idea of trying to lock him up before the deadline, but both sides were unable to come to an agreement.  So with him going to be a free agent at the end of the season, Chicago had to make sure that they could get something in return.

There were plenty of teams in the running to acquire him, but only a couple of teams had players in their farm system that the Cubs liked. The Texas Rangers, St. Louis Cardinals, and Arizona Diamondbacks were the teams that had the best chance to get him.

This is because of the farm systems that each team has, with the Rangers having the best mix of pitching prospects and position players available. The Rangers were also seen as the favorite to land him, because they had a desperate need to acquire a starter by the deadline.

The Diamondbacks have had numerous issues with their starting pitching and they were seen as a dark horse to land him. If they acquired Garza, that would give them a formidable pair with him and Patrick Corbin at the top of their rotation.

Arizona has probably the best group of pitchers in the minors of any team in baseball, but would they be willing to part with their young arms for a rental player that would be gone by the end of the season.

The Cardinals have a solid rotation, but with some starters injured they would like the chance to add a veteran to their rotation. They do have a good collection young pitchers in their farm system, but would Chicago want to trade him to a team within their own division.

In the end the Cubs ended up trading Garza to the Texas Rangers for good group of young players that can help the team out now and in the future as well.

Chicago acquired third baseman Mike Olt, right-handed starting pitcher Justin Grimm, another young right-hander C.J. Edwards, and a player to be named later. This is the type of trade where both sides won, and got exactly what they needed.

Texas wanted a top of the line starting pitcher for their rotation, and Chicago was looking for young players to build for their future.

Texas by making this trade is getting a pitcher that has a proven track record. They also get someone who knows how to pitch in the postseason, with Garza helping the Tampa Bay Rays reach the World Series in 2008.

The Cubs received a great hitting prospect in Mike Olt.  He is not doing so well this season in Triple-A with only a .213 average in 230 at-bats. Olt has been dealing with some vision problems, and that is probably the main cause of hitting woes.

Now by adding Olt to their system, what will they do with the player they just drafted in Kris Bryant, whose primary position is third base. The Cubs could move Bryant to the outfield and allow Olt to regain his hitting stroke.

The other players they received were two young right-handed starting pitchers. One of them can jump right into their rotation and the other can continue pitching in the minors.

Grimm already has some Major League experience by pitching for the Rangers this season. He is not having the best season with a 6.37 ERA in 89 innings pitched and a WHIP of 1.65.

A fresh start with a new team just might be what he needs, and with him moving to the NL that will help as well.

The other pitcher Edwards is having a breakout season in Single-A. He has a 1.83 ERA in 93.1 innings with 122 strikeouts and has only walked 34 batters.

The Cubs are not going to be competitive for some time, but this trade will definitely help them out in the long-run.

Mike Olt was one of the players that went to the Cubs in this deal. He was the Rangers top third base prospect in their farm system. He did struggle in Triple-A this season with him just hitting .213 in in 230 at-bats. One reason for his struggles is because he has been dealing with vision problems. The Cubs already have a third base prospect in their new draft pick Kris Bryant. They could allow Olt to regain his swing, and move Bryant to the outfield. This trade will help the Cubs out in the future, and in couple of years they could have a great team.

*** The views and opinions expressed in this report are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of mlbreports.com or their partners.***

A big thank-you goes out to our ”Lead Baseball Columnist and Minority Website Owner” Chris Lacey. Chris has been a fan of watching baseball since the age of 13. Now he does like all sports – but his favorites after baseball are hockey and basketball. 

Chris is very good with computers and is a college graduate.  

Chris is very active on Twitter and especially during the baseball season chatting with other Diamondbacks fans. Be sure to follow him and talk about the great game of baseball. Chris is addicted to writing baseball. 

Check out his work for rantsports.com here, for baseballhotcorner.com here, for venom strikes here and if you can believe it – fanrag.com here

Follow @aecanada12

Please e-mail me  at: mlbreports@gmail.com with any questions and feedback.   To subscribe to our website and have the Daily Reports sent directly to your inbox, click here and follow the link at the top of our homepage.

Like us on Facebook here