Trade Idea: Matt Garza to the Tigers

Whether Cubs' fans and management want to say it, the Cubs are on full rebuilding mode right now. Epstein has made a point that he wants to keep Garza, but if the right trade comes along, he will pull the trigger and send Garza packing.

The Tigers have made it to the playoffs and are making a big impact and developing their team into an AL Central Dynasty. They added one of the biggest and baddest slugging first basemen, Prince Fielder, and may be looking to consolidate their rotation to make another push and guarantee a playoff spot. They might also want to add a bullpen piece in this trade and the Cubs have many that they can salvage for prospects.

The Cubs want to add depth to their minor leagues and get some legitimate prospects to fill their farm system. As mentioned above, they have both starting pitchers and bullpen pitchers that they can send away for a couple of prospects. This makes them and the Tigers almost perfect trading partners. Matt Garza has $9.5 Million on his contract for next year, but the Cubs might not have to eat much, if any, to the Tigers, because they are going all in now, and might not really mind adding that much for a strong starting pitcher. The Cubs might want to absorb some salary to get more prospects in the trade.

Here is my trade proposal(s)...

Matt Garza and $4 Million to the Tigers for Jacob Turner, Kevin Eichhorn, and Adam Wilk
or
Matt Garza, Jeff Samardzija, and $4 Million to the Tigers for Jacob Turner, Don Kelley, Casey Crosby, and Adam Wilk

I think both trades would be fairly even considering the amount that Epstein is asking for each and the equal want of Mike Illitch to win a World Series before he dies. The Cubs free up a little money, and acquire good pitching prospects in both trades, and even get a very useful utility man in Kelley if they include a bullpen piece. If the Tigers want to make more strides, I think they really need another starting pitcher to consolidate and make a 1-2-3-4 punch in their rotation. They will have to make a commitment to Garza after the season if he performs well, and they might get burdened with the asking prices that Edwin Jackson had demanded earlier this offseason.