It didn’t take long for the action to resume once Masahiro Tanaka signed with the New York Yankees.
The Milwaukee Brewers are negotiating a deal with free agent right-hander Matt Garza. Reports indicated the Brewers had agreed to sign Garza to a four-year, $52 million contract, but Milwaukee released a statement Thursday evening saying negotiations were ongoing but a deal had yet to be finalized.
The potential deal, which was reportedly pending a physical as of Thursday, would not cost the Brewers a draft pick, since Garza was traded midway through the 2013 season.
Garza, 30, posted a 3.82 ERA with 136 strikeouts in 155.1 innings with the Chicago Cubs and Texas Rangers last year. In eight MLB seasons, the CAA Sports client has a 3.84 ERA with 1001 strikeouts in 1182.1 innings.
The deal would give the Brewers a projected starting rotation of Yovani Gallardo, Kyle Lohse, Marco Estrada, Wily Peralta and Garza. General manager Doug Melvin was relatively quiet for the first few months of the off-season after finishing the 2013 season with a record of 74-88.
With Tanaka and Garza likely off of the free agent market, teams such as the Toronto Blue Jays, Arizona Diamondbacks and Seattle Mariners continue seeking starting pitching. Free agents Ervin Santana and Ubaldo Jimenez, clearly the top free agents available, are both linked to draft pick compensation after declining qualifying offers from their former teams. This means their new clubs must forfeit a top draft pick to complete a deal.
