After much speculation and seemingly endless rumors, the Cubs finally traded Matt Garza with Texas being the lucky recipient. In return, the Cubs will receive third baseman Mike Olt, right handed pitchers Justin Grimm and C.J. Edwards, plus a PTBNL.
Overall, its a pretty good haul for the Cubs, as Baseball America ranked Olt, Grimm and Edwards as the #2, #5 and #14 prospects in the Rangers system prior to the season. It is also an offer I'm glad that the Cardinals did not try to beat.
For comparison purposes, the Cardinals would have probably had to offer something like Kolten Wong, Tyrell Jenkins and Kevin Siegrist to match or beat the Rangers' offer. Its just too much to give up for a two-month rental that isn't significantly better than the pitcher (Joe Kelly) he would likely replace.
However, that doesn't mean that the Cards are not looking for help. Ken Rosenthal reports that the Cardinals had a scout on hand when Jake Peavy took the mound on Saturday. Of course, that doesn't necessarily mean that the scout was there to watch Peavy or only Peavy, as there are other players on the White Sox team that could interest the Cards, such as shortstop Alexi Ramirez or reliever Matt Lindstrom.
Peavy may be of more interest to the Cardinals than Garza, as he would be under team control through the 2014 season. However, as with Garza, it is debatable as to whether Peavy would be an upgrade to any of the Cards current starters.
Its more likely that the scout was there to watch Matt Lindstrom, a veteran reliever who could help bolster the Cardinals bullpen. Lindstrom would probably not cost much in terms of prospects for the Cards and could become this year's version of last year's Edward Mujica trade.
In any case, with Matt Garza finally dealt, other dominoes will start to fall and it will be interesting to see what the Cardinals end up with when the dust settles.
Would trading for any shortstop really be an improvement. I'm not sold.
ReplyDelete"Any" shortstop would not be an improvement. But there are some SS out there that would be a definite improvement with one being mentioned above. Ramirez from the WhiteSox isn't having his best year but he has shown to have some pop in his bat in years past. He's definitely a better hitter than Kozmza or Descalso. Cabrera from the Indians would have been a nice get but the Indians are still in the race with the Tigers so that's not going to happen. Gonzalez from the Rockies would be fantastic but he makes to much, we would have to give up to many prospects, and the Rockies are technically still in their division race. I'm not sure who the Cards would want to go after at SS and what they are willing to surrender in a trade but their are definitely upgrades both offensively and defensively out there.
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