I like Matt Garza just as much as the next guy. He always seemed nice enough in interviews, but mostly he's a good pitcher who didn't make any negative headlines on my favorite team. Granted, neither I nor the next guy have ever met Matt Garza.1 No matter how much I liked him as a Cub, I'm really happy he's now a Ranger.
Garza was traded on Monday in a deal that helped infuse more depth into the Cubs' minor league system. Third baseman Mike Olt is just a year removed from raking at the AAA level and is a former top prospect. Righty CJ Edwards hasn't allowed a home run in his 18 professional starts. Justin Grimm has some pretty ugly numbers in 17 starts this season but he's still just 24 and could be a solid back-end rotation piece. The player to be named later could be Neil Ramirez, another young pitcher with success so far in the minors.
The cache of exciting talent only seems to keep growing. They're still a few years off from even considering being competitive, but with Starlin Castro and Anthony Rizzo already making the big time and plenty of others waiting in the wings, there's reason to believe that quality baseball might not be too far on the horizon.
Garza's departure signals the beginning of a fire sale of veterans that is sure to hit the North Side. Kevin Gregg, Alfonso Soriano, David DeJesus, Cody Ransom and Nate Schierholtz could all be dealt before next Wednesday's deadline, but none will bring back as good a package as they just received. Either way, the farm keeps improving and this front office keeps giving itself more options for the future.
The Cubs attained the best record in baseball in 2008, winning 97 games before being swept by Manny and the Dodgers in the NLDS. They won 83 games in 2009, and haven't had a winning record since. That one blip of success had a lot to do with getting lucky with some trades from past seasons. The problem was, no one was there to take the reins once the wheels fell off. In 2009, Baseball America ranked the farm system 27th.The roster's "new blood" featured duds such as Jake Fox, Micah Hoffpauir and Sam Fuld. They were ranked 14th in 2010, but with no one close to the majors, most of those notable players have since either been traded away2 or seen their production drop considerably.3 All of these factored into the crummy situation in which they've found themselves since.
The plan makes perfect sense in theory. Eventually, just like in '08, they will be able to field a watchable team. When that happens, rather than repeating the disaster that followed '08, the accumulated resources should provide enough organizational depth to ensure sustained success. Having more pieces can only decrease the odds of a similar fiasco.
Nobody, no matter how promising he may seem, is a sure-thing. Development and future production are projections that can only be made based on past results, and injuries can hit even the most finely tuned athletic machines. Geovany Soto was the 2008 NL Rookie of the Year, but hasn't since come close to replicating that performance. They key to consistent winning is the luxury of not relying on one guy to get you over the top. One prospect can be a bust, but it seems a little too pessimistic to believe that all of them will be.
1. I've never met this "next guy" so I could be wrong about that. They could be buddies, I'm just assuming they don't know each other.↩
2. Ironically, guys such as Chris Archer, Hak-Ju Lee and Sam Fuld were shipped out for Garza in the first place. Oops?↩
3. Brett Jackson immediately comes to mind in that category. He's batting just .223 so far this season with 77 K's in 242 PA ↩
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