Matt Garza has a $50 million arm…
The 30-year-old Mexican American professional baseball pitcher has signed a four-year, $50 million contract with the Milwaukee Brewers.
The deal, which includes a fifth-year vesting option for 2018, could be worth up to $67 million based on performance bonuses.
Garza will get $12.5 million a season, with $2 million annually deferred without interest. The deferred money is payable in four installments each Dec. 15 starting in 2018. He can earn an additional $1 million annually in performance bonuses: $500,000 each for 30 starts and 190 innings.
The deal includes a $13 million option for 2018 that would become guaranteed if he makes 110 starts during the next four years, pitches 155 innings in 2017 and is not on the disabled list at the end of that season. Milwaukee also would get an extra year at a relatively low salary if he has a significant arm injury.
The Brewers, who are looking to rebound from a disappointing 74-88 season in 2013, also announced the deal on the team’s official Twitter account.
General manager Doug Melvin called Garza an “established, top-of-the-rotation pitcher.”
“The thing about signing Matt now, it gives us a lot more depth and, as you know, during a baseball season, you never use five starters,” Melvin said. “So, just kind of wait and see how spring training unfolds, and always having the available depth is important to stay in a 162-game season.”
Garza went 10-6 with a 3.82 ERA last season for the Chicago Cubs and Texas Rangers. The right-hander missed most of the first two months while recovering from an injury that affected his side and back.
Garza will join Yovani Gallardo and Kyle Lohse at the top of Milwaukee’s rotation. He is 67-67 with a 3.84 ERA in eight seasons with Minnesota Twins, Tampa Bay Rays, the Chicago Cubs and Texas Rangers.
Garza is looking forward to pitching — and hitting — back in the NL Central.
“It’s fun. I like the Central, I like pitching in the Central,” Garza said in a conference call. “I like swinging the bat in the big parks.”
