Matt Garza Trade Rumors: Looks Like He's Gone Sooner Rather Than Later

You all know me pretty well by now. I roll my eyes at most trade rumors, because 99 percent of them wind up not being true.

But in the case of Matt Garza, it's different. Garza's been on the trade market for quite some time, and now, according to CBS Sports' Jon Heyman, the market is heating up:

The Orioles, Rangers, Giants, Padres and Dodgers are all said by sources to have varying degrees of interest, with the Red Sox, Blue Jays and several others seen as possibilities.

Chicago looks like it's going to be the Merchandise Mart of cities this trade deadline, with the Cubs now joining the White Sox as early sellers, Garza – who is battled-tested in the tough A.L. East, not to mention very hot at the moment – at the heart of their trade talks.

Folks who have talked to the Cubs say they determined that Garza will surely go for two reasons: 1) Cubs people are taking a very realistic approach to their team and understand they aren't a contender, especially in the formidable N.L. Central, and 2) they realized awhile go that there's no long-term deal to be made with the free-agent-to-be Garza, in fact as far back as two springs ago when multiyear talks never got traction.

BCB's Kevin Aumiller has already covered the Rangers, the Blue Jays and the Orioles in his "411" series about possible Cubs trade partners. The Rangers, among other teams, watched Garza's start in Milwaukee Thursday afternoon, and Garza came through with one of his best outings of the year.

If multiple teams are competing for Garza's services, Theo and Jed can possibly weigh offers against other offers and maybe push teams to give more than they otherwise would.

I think the Cubs can move on without Garza. He's good, but has had some injury issues the last couple of years, and will cost upwards of $70 million (just to throw a number out there) to keep on a multiyear deal. If they do trade Garza, Carlos Villanueva can be slotted back in the rotation -- which is way better than having the Jason Berkens and Justin Germanos of the world in the Cubs' rotation.

So what would you want in return? Vote in the poll, and leave your thoughts in the comments.