What Will The Milwaukee Brewers Do With Matt Garza In 2017?

According to the Milwaukee Brewers depth chart, there are seven pitchers competing for a spot in the rotation. Where does Matt Garza fit in?

Back in 2014, Milwaukee Brewers GM Doug Melvin signed Matt Garza to bolster the team’s pitching staff for a playoff run. Initially, this looked to be a good move as the Brewers got off to a hot start and appeared to be a post-season lock.

However, under Ron Roenicke, the team experienced an epic collapse that changed the direction of the franchise. Initially, the front office reacted by dismissing the 2014 finish as a fluke and kept the team largely intact for 2015.

But when a new season just brought more losing, Doug Melvin set the Brewers on a course to rebuild from the ground up. This included handing his job over to current GM, David Stearns.

Since taking over, Stearns has stayed busy through a flurry of free-agent signings and trades. Over this time the list of former Brewers has grown tremendously and includes players such as Jonathan Lucroy, Aaron Hill, Jeremy Jeffress and Will Smith.

Through these trades, the Milwaukee roster looks completely different from the team of 2014. One player who has survived multiple trade deadline’s is Matt Garza. The reason he remains on the team is simple; no one else is willing to pay for his services.

Coming off another injury-filled season with only 19 appearances, Garza no longer is in the mix to receive his $13 million salary in 2018. For this to take place, he needed to meet several requirements.

Start 110 games by the end of 2017.
Does not end 2017 on the disabled list.
Pitch at least 115 innings in 2017.

While avoiding the disabled list and pitching 115 innings are certainly achievable, reaching 110 starts is almost impossible. Heading into the year, Matt Garza has made just 71 starts, leaving him 39 short of his goal.

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In 2016, David Price led the league in starts with 35. Given Garza’s proneness to injury and the fact he would be the Brewers 4th or 5th option, Milwaukee will be saving money in 2018.

However, should David Stearns choose to keep Garza in 2018, he can do so for just $5 million. He becomes even cheaper at $1 million if he spends over 130 days on the DL.

Given these circumstances, how the Brewers handle the pitcher in 2017 is up for debate. One hand, he provides a veteran presence who would be a solid option as the 5th starter. Because his contract becomes team friendly in 2018, there is still a chance he could be traded to a contender. On the other hand, pitching him at all takes away innings that could be given to a young pitcher.

Also, inserting him into the rotation would prevent Counsell from using Tommy Milone, the team’s only left-handed starter. This is unless Stearns chooses to promote top pitching prospect, Josh Hader (L) to the majors. While this option would be the most exciting, it doesn’t make sense for the team’s long-term future. A more likely scenario is that Hader begins the year in AAA and is called up near mid-season.

Therefore, the decision comes down to Chase Anderson, Matt Garza or Tommy Milone for the 5th spot. Much of this depends on who is healthy and performs during spring training. However, the early advantage goes to Tommy Milone to bring a measure of balance to the rotation.

But, given David Stearns track record of flipping players for prospects, it would not be surprising for him to let Garza pitch himself into being trade bait. This would be the best case scenario for both parties.

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Regardless of what takes place, it is fair to say that Matt Garza’s tenure as a Brewer has been disappointing. But if he is able to pitch well and remain healthy in 2017, he would give David Stearns a chance to do what he does best; salvage an acquisition from the Melvin regime.

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