The Milwaukee Brewers made a relatively surprising splash in free agency today with the signing of former Chicago Cubs pitcher Matt Garza to a four-year, $52 million deal. Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports first reported the signing just after noon on Thursday.
Garza, 30, most recently pitched for the Texas Rangers following a trade from the Cubs in July 2013. He posted a 10-6 record with a 3.82 ERA in his 24 combined starts with the Cubs and Rangers, but showed a downward trend after the trade, going 4-5 with a 4.38 ERA.
He joins a Milwaukee rotation that includes Kyle Lohse, Yovani Gallardo, Marco Estrada, Wily Peralta and Tyler Thornburg. The length of Garza's deal could also be further indication that Gallardo will be dangled as trade bait again this season in the final year of his contract.
Garza will not come at a cost to the Brewers farm system, as he does not have draft-pick compensation tied to his free agency. The deal is still pending a physical, which is no sure thing given Garza's injury history. He spent six weeks on the disabled list with a rib-cage strain, and has had elbow issues that have caused him to miss parts of 2011 and 2012.
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