The Cubs agreed to trade Ryan Dempster to Atlanta earlier today, and they aren't done dealing yet. The Cubs and Dodgers are discussing a trade that would send right-hander Matt Garza to Los Angeles for a package of players including highly-regarded pitching prospect Zach Lee, Jim Bowden of ESPN.com and MLB Network reports (on Twitter).
Garza, 28, has a 3.91 ERA with 8.3 K/9 and 2.8 BB/9 in 103 2/3 innings this year. He earns $9.5MM and will go to arbitration one last time this offseason, when his salary can be expected to climb past $12MM. If the Dodgers acquire Garza this summer, they'd be eligible to obtain draft pick compensation for him should he depart as a free agent following the 2013 season.
Lee, 20, entered the season as the Dodgers' best prospect and the 62nd-best prospect in MLB, according to Baseball America. He has a 5.85 ERA with 8.1 K/9 and 2.6 BB/9 in 17 starts at Class A and Double-A so far this year. The Dodgers signed the 2010 first round selection to a $5.25MM bonus after selecting him 28th overall two years ago.
Theo can do better..
I also hope Epstein looks to do better. Please Ned, move on from Garza.
Maybe that’s why he has Jud doing it?
Oh boy, this is turning into an awesome day
Ehh, Zach Lee has yet to do anything. 3.68 Single-A FIP, 4.03 high-A FIP, 5.50 AA FIP. Yeah, he’s not yet 21 (turning 21 in August), but there had better be a good deal more to justify investing heavily in a possible 3-year project prospect who hasn’t even shown an ability to handle A-ball hitters.
those numbers @ Rancho Cucamonga are in a very high offensive league. a little skewed imo
Agreed. He was arguably a little rushed, too.
Do not look at prospect numbers and judge off of just those. It’s not about what a guy is, it’s about what a guy can be.
While true there is very little projection when it comes to lee.
You mean little as in project as a 2/3 starter?
Lee is who he is now, average to slightly above average stuff with good control and ok command. His body is already “filled out” so he isn’t going to add more on his velocity. If everything goes perfectly he is a three, he never was going to be a front of the rotation guy, the stuff isn’t there.
The problem is that he’s pretty much ALL potential and no production. He’s going up levels without even managing to be average at the previous ones. Lee might be able to fit in as a #2 or #3, but he currently looks more like a #4 or #5 in AAA. I wouldn’t support trading Garza for someone who is doing absolutely nothing impressive in the minors.
That’s what a prospect is, ya know? You have no idea what he’s working on down there, what kind of umpires, his teammates, anything. Anyone who pays attention to a top prospect’s numbers in the minors, especially the lower minors, doesn’t really have a grasp.
You think that a prospect should be someone completely incapable of beating minor league players? No umpire should lead to results THAT terrible.
And we’re not just talking about the lower minors. We’re talking about consistently failing to produce over 3 levels now.
Lee is more of a solid #3 at this point. His command isnt good. Cant get his fastball over consistently so hitters are sitting on his breaking stuff and hitting him around pretty good. Still very young, but not the lynch pin of this trade if its gonna happen. I think Gordon and Gould will have to also be part of package.
Gordon won’t be dealt now. He’s injured and the Dodgers would be selling low. Gould, sure.
Every time I get an alert, I have physically and emotionally broken down with joy.
A GREAT DAY
Yes, let’s hope the Dempster trade sets off a flurry of trades now, yeah? It’s been rather boring so far
delgado AND zach lee????
Do they know that the trade deadline isn’t until next Tuesday?
Zach Lee is a top pitching prospect…..that return would be nice but my bet is, if Dempster returned Delgado, then more than Lee is coming with Garza.
Try for some of the Rangers prospects. I don’t think Lee is even the talent that Randall Delgado is.
Dodgers better throw in more than just Lee.
I don’t think you know anything about Zach Lee.
What about my post do you think is inaccurate? That Lee isn’t the prospect that Randall Delgado is? Baseball America and numerous scouts would agree w/ me. Delgado was rated higher than Lee just at the beginning of the year. Delgado has seen some success in the bigs already this year while Lee has an ERA close to 6 in high A and double A this year. His stock has to have fallen since the beginning of the year…
Or do you have a problem w/ the second part of my statement? I think Garza’s value has to be higher than Dempster’s — Dempster netted Delgado — why should Cubs get a lesser prospect for him than Garza?
Because the braves overpayed to get the guy they wanted.I agree Garza should be worth more the Demspter but dont expect another top 50 spec.
I agree w/ that. Braves did overpay for a rental. I just think Lee’s value has had to take a hit after the kind of year he’s had. Dodgers farm system is kind of void of top level talent. You don’t think the Cubs would find a better package from a different team?
From a fan standpoint i agree they probably could find a better deal. But i dont really think theirs a big market out there for Garza.Rangers are said to only be interested in trading top specs if its for Hamels or Grienke.
i dont think theirs a huge market for Garza .Rangers have said they will only want to trade top specs for Greike or Hamels only
Zach Lee has been horrible lately.
Isn’t it just because he was recently promoted to AA? Although honestly I don’t know how much of a jump in skill level there is from A to AA.
Bad in A too
Bad in A? He has a 1.2 WHIP, 7.5/2.5 K/BB and 3.47 ERA as a 19 year old. That is pretty damn good.
He’s 20 in AA, he’s gonna take his lumps.
Honestly, in his case, numbers are pretty much the last thing to base any kinda opinion on him with
The jump from A to AA is arguably the hardest in the minors.
5 game span!? cut him! just release him.
I’d much rather get Perez from the Rangers, but I obviously wouldn’t object if we could get Lee and Eovaldi for Garza.
EDIT: or even Lee/Eovaldi and John Ely
Why? Perez has seen his K/9 drop at every stop in the minors, and his walks have gone up at the same time. A 4.37 FIP isn’t exactly worth bragging about. I’d rather get any of the top-3, maybe even top-5, pitching prospects from the Blue Jays.
True. Maybe Perez isn’t the answer. I don’t see the Jays dealing for Garza though – the 10-player trade from the other day seems like the Jays are waiting until next year.
Garza’s under team control for next year.
Point made – maybe it’ll happen. I definitely like the Demp trade too – good move by Theo & Co. to set the market. I’m very interested to see what they can get for Garza.
Why would that trade make you think that they are waiting until next year? Fact is, that is a trade made solely for this year.
I would most certainly give you Eovaldi and Ely for Garza, just not Lee.
Definitely DO NOT like this trade! Zach Lee for Garza?! Would rather trade Lee in a package for a bat, not a pitcher!
Heck, I would do Zach Lee and Eovaldi for Headley over Garza. At least the Dodgers improve the hitting at 3B (by a large margin).
I agree. Don’t trade for Garza. I want a pitching prospect who knows how to pitch, haha.
Headley is under control for two more seasons after this and is one of the better third basemen in the game. Gonna take a major haul with many chips to get him out of San Diego.
Dude, if the Dodgers offer Lee and Eovaldi, believe me, the Padres would at least listen. That’s 2 legit pitching prospects. Zach Lee is struggling a bit, but he’s young for AA and, honestly, probably is suffering from a little dead arm. The Dodgers should probably shut him down for a while and let his arm rest.
Not saying the Padres would do the trade, but an offer like the one I mentioned would definitely be considered.
Chase Headley is overrated in my opinion, he is only hitting like .260, which average to below average.
seriously? Keep Garza if thats all you can get right now. The rangers system has more talented pitching in it than zach lee. Heck Delgado is better than Lee. I say move on from the dodgers
Yeah if I’m the Cubs I’ll try to get maximum value for Garza. Not sure if the Dodgers have enough value in their minor league system to warrant a trade. Maybe if they got Lee plus another top tier arm in their system it makes sense.
Agreed. I want some proven success in the Minors. The Dodgers just don’t have anything to offer in that department to get Garza.
Heck, I actually wouldn’t give you Lee for Garza, as a Dodger fan!
We don’t even trally need pitching as much as we need a bat!
With the Cubs receiving Delgado for a Dempster, the bar for starting pitchers is now set on what Lariano, Shields, and Garza can fetch. If the Dodgers were smart, they’d get this deal done ASAP before another team decides to go all in.
As a Cubs fan, this has the potential to be a very good day.
And just a side note here for the rest of Cubs faithful out there or those that are genuinely interested, here’s a link to Soler’s first homerun. Even with a crappy cell phone, you can really hear what the scouts were talking about.
Why the rush? You’ve moved Dempster, sit back, let Hamels and Greinke get extended, and let the market develop for Garza.
And if Hamels and/or Greinke get traded? That’s one less buyer on the market, driving Garza’s price down. It’s a gamble either way.
One less buyer, but also one less player available. I could see a team growing desperate after failing to land two of their targets.
Remember that the Cubs gave up Hak-Ju Lee (now the no. 12 overall prospect in MLB according to ESPN) & Chris Archer (now no. 63 overall) to get Garza… Hopefully we get more than just Zach Lee in return.
Garza was under contract for a lot longer at the time, so any return might pale in comparison.
Theo knows what he’s doing though, I wouldn’t sweat it.
Theo isnt the GM, Jed is
Theo is Jed’s boss and in charge of the organization. Most teams have a GM who is the highest executive in the front office. The Cubs are different now. Stop being a jackass. Theo is running the show.
Dodgers should probably add a bat before an arm.
Agree. Dodgers need offense more than pitching, especially from the corner infield spots.
Billingsley comes back today and Ted Lilly is likely only a couple weeks away. Why are they trading for pitching when their starters’ ERA has been one of the best in all of baseball?!
With all the irrelevant debating over who overpaid for what, this question remains the elephant in the room. The only answer I come up with is that Lilly is not close to returning. Seems like he’s been “a couple weeks away” for like a month now. Not a good sign, and the only answer I can figure for wanting Garza (or Dempster).
I strongly agree! We really continue to need a middle of the order bat. I’m thinking 20 plus HRs,80 plus RBIs, clutch type hitter .280 plus average….I’m not hearing much about earlier discussions of Ramirez???? He fits that profile plus he would be more about money than prospects.
Dont know to much about Lee but after reading ppl’s comments he has potential, But can anyone else tell me what else could be shipped with Lee for Garza?
Honestly if I’m the Tigers I would overpay a little for Garza a pitcher that could be part of my plans for years and maybe get Darwin Bareny included in the deal. The Tigers can win now and for a couple years if they can get some pitching and a little up the middle D. Turner and Castellanos plus some lesser prospects could get that done that would give the Cibs why they want and Castellanos is blocked anyways.
If the Tigers gave us Turner and Castellanos they wouldn’t need to throw anybody else in, somebody would be driving Garza and Barney to the airport already.
The asking price for Garza all year has been 2 top 10 prospect plus one low upside prospect why would that change I you added Barney to the mix.
The asking price only matters if the Cubs are really going to hang on to the player if they don’t get it (highly unlikely) or if another team is offering more. The real question is would anybody offer a better package and I doubt it. Plus those two fill needs for the Cubs’ farm system extremely well.
I’m sure you’ve seen that Turner got dealt to the Marlins, though, so it is all rather moot.
Being in the rather unusual position of being both a Dodger fan (where I grew up) and a Cubs fan (where I’ve lived for fifteen years) I can say that, given the objectives of both teams right now, this makes sense. I like Garza over Dempster, just because Dempster’s career numbers in no way support what he’s done this year. He’ll be a 4,00 ERA the rest of the way. Garza is MUCH younger, and I like him better for the Dodgers. True, Lee has done nothing, but he IS young. Ryan stunk as a youngster, I will remind everyone. This guy will be good-probably not a #1-but likely at least a #3. If he ends up a #2, than it’s a dead even swap-with many years ahead of him!
Lee and another pitching prospect for Garza makes good sense for both teams. If Dempster gets you Delgado than Garza should get you more than just Lee.
I seriously dont understand why Jed(THE GM NOT THEO) isnt calling AA, the Jays need pitching, And they have a stacked system. Garza had a ton of success in the AL East he could help them like crazy. I know it wouldnt happen but he could ask for D’Arnud…again I know that wouldnt be likely at all but they do still have a great farm system Jed could have his way with
Garza isn’t even that good. For trading Lee away I would expect a better starter than that. Yet the Dodgers are sending a “package” in addition to Lee. I see Ned is looking to get raped again. You’d think he would have learned after he sent McDonald to Pittsburgh.
GOD I WANT TURNER SOOO BAD! Why can’t they just trade Garza and Barney to the Tigers already!!!!
Rediculous.. overpaying for Garza!
Insane comment guy.
Lee is a weak pitching prospect.
The Dodgers do not have the prospects to get Garza.
I agree with looking to the Rangers. Garza could push them over the top and make them clear WS favorites. A package built around 3B Mike Olt would be good for both sides as he is blocked in Texas.
Clearly, the Cubs wanted Turner and Castellanos for Garza from Detroit. I don’t think the Cubs were very high on Turner and Detroit didn’t want to move Castellanos.
Hopefully Texas is willing to move Olt and the Cubs and Rangers can find some common ground on a pitching prospect or two, maybe expand the deal some. We have a red tag sale going on in Chicago!
Don’t believe every rumor you read.
Going into 2012 Randall Delgado graded out higher than Lee and the Braves gave him up for a rental of a 35 year old Dempster.
Dodgers simply don’t have enough to get back 28 yr old Garza who is under team control for 2013 without giving up a major league player. So maybe Dee Gordon, Zach Lee, Garret Gould and another mid range prospect would get it done.
Lee would have been an OK deal for dempster. Noway for Garza, unless Kemp along with a Sori are included with no money changing hands (Except maybe in the cubs direction)
Maybe they should dump Billingsley as a part of the package. He threw TEN pitches retiring the PITCHER last night.