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The Toronto Blue Jays seem to be the best matchup for the Cubs in a Garza deal. After just missing out on Japanese starter Yu Darvish and watching left-hander John Danks re-sign with the White Sox, the Blue Jays best chance to compete would be to acquire Garza before the start of the season.

Toronto’s No. 1 pick from 2010, right-hander Deck McGuire, will be the focal point of any negotiations between the Cubs and Jays. The 22-year-old pitcher was a combined 9-5 at three different minor-league levels in 2011. The Blue Jays are convinced he’s near major-league ready.

The Cubs will also inquire about the availabilities of left-handed pitcher Justin Nicolino and power-hitting outfielder Jake Marisnick. Nicolino, a 20-year-old pitcher, was 6-2 with a 1.33 ERA at two minor league levels last season. He allowed just 39 hits in 61 innings. Marisnick is considered a five-tool prospect and hit 14 homers at the lower-A level last year.

The Cubs, who have no great agenda to trade Garza, are also preparing to talk to his agent about a long-term deal. So far they don’t like where the trade talks are going.

dagger wrote:Supposedly, for Gio Gonzales, we were offering second tier prospects only.

flatjacket1 wrote:Gosh I hope not.

If it takes anything more than 2 B level prospects I'm out.

FIP is higher than Morrows, hes not worth all that much. Also don't forget the "AL East effect"

I'd rather wait for Noah (The guy in our system who can hit triple digits on the radar gun)

Kurtz wrote:Garza averaged a 3 WAR when pitching in the Al East for 3 years. Morrow has averaged a 1.5 WAR during the last 2.

Also, I don't think he'd be blocking Noah, given that we have 3 starting rotation spots wide open at this point.

1. Pitcher Value: fWAR relies totally on FIP, making it a defense-independent metric, while rWAR adds in defensive runs saved as well.

BobbyBoy wrote:I only like a garza deal if we trade 1 b+ prospect and a b prospect. I still think AA could do better, like Matt Cain, even though it would cost a lot more.

Grade B prospects have a good chance to enjoy successful careers. Some will develop into stars, some will not. Most end up spending several years in the majors, at the very least in a marginal role.

1) Travis D'Arnaud, C, Grade B+: Borderline A-: He would be an A- or maybe even an A if he was more effective at throwing out runners and struck out less often, but he can really hit and is still a superior prospect even with those weaknesses.

9) Anthony Gose, OF, Grade B: Other people will probably rank him higher due to his tools. He's made a lot of progress, but his hitting approach remains quite raw and the strikeout rate still bothers me. Made big strides refining his defense and baserunning. Grade A tools, Grade C+ skills, makes him a strong Grade B overall.

-MetA4- wrote:Garza isn't going to happen. A GM that places an incredible amount of emphasis on value isn't going to pay a premium for a pitcher who has only 2 years of control.