Matt Garza Rumors: Blue Jays, Red Sox, Yankees Targeting Garza

With the free agent market being light on front-of-the-rotation talent, many teams have turned to trades in their hunt for elite pitching.  Chicago Cubs starter Matt Garza is one player that has drawn significant interest this offseason.  Yesterday, David Kaplan of Comcast Sportsnet Chicago reported that Garza trade talks were “heating up”.  Because of his previous success pitching for the Tampa Bay Rays, every American League East team has been tied to Garza, specifically the Blue Jays, Yankees and Red Sox.

Kaplan says the trio of AL East clubs were the ones “involved” in discussions.  However, Kaplan said he wasn’t sure if a deal would get down because the Cubs asking price for Garza is “incredibly high”.

It makes sense that Cubs president Theo Epstein would attach such a lofty price tag to his team’s ace.  Garza is under team control for two more seasons and Epstein has hinted that he would like to build around the right-hander if it’s at all possible.

Still, Epstein has also admitted that the Cubs need to add pitching depth at the minor and major league levels.  As Theo’s top trade chip, Garza would allow Chicago to speed up the rebuilding process.

As expected, it was reported by Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com that the Cubs “seem to be prioritizing young starting pitching” in their trade talks for Garza.  Heyman says of the three AL East teams most interested in Garza, the Yankees and Blue Jays have the minor leaguers it would take to acquire the 28-year-old.

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