FanPost

The stock of Matt Garza

We have reached the point in the year yet again that sadly the post season is out of reach for the Cubs (shocker right?), this means that the fire sale 2013 edition has begun. Two small deals have already been reached (takahashi and lillibridge) and there are certainly more to come.

Our best trading chip is right handed flame throwing starter Matt Garza. This comes as no surprise, because he would have been dealt last year had he stayed healthy. Garza, recently off of the DL, seems to be finding his groove again. His last two times out he has shown off his top off the rotation stuff and lasted deep into the game. There really isn't anything more on this team that could get me more excited for the deadline than to have a chip like Garza at the top of his game. Garza showing teams he is healthy and throwing the way Matt Garza can is exactly what the Cubs need right now.

Still being a few weeks from the deadline, it's still kind of fuzzy as to who is buying and who is selling. Garza will almost certainly be kept right up to the deadline to maximize his value, and maybe catch a team desperate to get a starter before its too late. Looking through the starters who will be on the market come the deadline, I would put Garza up there near the top, especially if he can string together good, or even dominant, starts until the deadline.

So who are the buyers? I think that there are very few teams who don't need to add a good starter for the second half. The Red Sox could possibly be a fit, could the Rangers be back for more after dealing for Dempster last year? The Blue Jays have also been on quite a roll lately. It could also be a team like the Padres who are lingering in there division race and decide they are going to try to make a run. The more teams interested, the better. Nothing's better than teams trying to our bid each other.

Another question mark, will he be traded alone, or packaged with someone else? Nate Schierholtz sure looks like a pretty valuable 4th outfielder/ pinch hitter. What do you guys think? I would love to hear any thoughts, rumors, or scenarios that everyone has.

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