Tag Archives: Matt Garza

Garza Signs Four-Year, $50 Million Contract with the Milwaukee Brewers

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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.

Matt Garza

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.”

Garza In Talks to Join the Milwaukee Brewers

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Matt Garza’s career prospects are brewing…

The 30-year-old Mexican American professional baseball pitcher is reportedly in serious talks with the Milwaukee Brewers.

Matt Garza

Despite media reports, Garza, currently a free-agent, and the team haven’t made an official deal yet.

The Brewers issued a statement Thursday evening following reports of a $52 million, four-year agreement between the Brewers and the right-hander, pending a physical.

The statement says “despite media reports, negotiations between the Brewers and Matt Garza are ongoing, but there is no deal yet.”

Garza pitched for the Chicago Cubs most of the past three seasons before Chicago dealt him to the Texas Rangers at last July’s trade deadline.

Garza will step into a Milwaukee rotation that includes holdovers Kyle Lohse, Yovani Gallardo, Wily Peralta and Marco Estrada.

Chicago Cubs Trade Garza to the Texas Rangers

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It’s official… Matt Garza will be winding-up in the Lone Star State…

The Texas Rangers have acquired the 29-year-old Mexican American pitcher from the Chicago Cubs, the team announced Monday night.

Matt Garza

In exchange for Garza, the Cubs acquired Triple-A infielder Mike Olt, Class A right-hander C.J. Edwards and right-hander Justin Grimm from the Rangers. The Cubs will also get one or two players to be named later, depending on who they take, as part of the deal.

Garza is expected to work out with the Rangers on Tuesday; while Texas general manager Jon Daniels said Garza is likely to start Wednesday night against the New York Yankees.

“He’s an extremely talented pitcher,” said Daniels. “He’s had success in the toughest divisions and the biggest stages. He was throwing the ball as well as anybody right now. He has a power repertoire, who is something that’s a little different from what we’ve got. And he was available.

“He was in our opinion the best guy on the market, and we wanted to go out and make a push to get him.”

Garza was scheduled to start for the Cubs Monday night against the Arizona Diamondbacks but was scratched.

Garza is 6-1 with a 3.17 ERA overall this season, including 5-0 with a 1.24 ERA in his past six starts. He is entering the final year of his contract.

“He was the best pitcher in baseball in his last five, six, seven starts. He’s young, has great velocity, has good command of his pitches and that makes him attractive to any team,” said Cubs manager Dale Sveum. “It’s not easy to part with a guy like Garza and someone has to step in and be productive. We hope the players we get will make us a better team, and in the future, we can be the team who pursues a player like Garza.”

With six pitchers currently on the disabled list, including four starters, Texas has been in the market for a starting pitcher for weeks. The Rangers are in a heated division race with Oakland, trailing the A’s by three games in the AL West entering Monday night.