Brewers By the (Jersey) Numbers ’17 — #22 Matt Garza
Deuces wild. Twenty-two days until Opening Day.
This column is going to be a bit different. Normally I spend some time with a little verbiage before the jump, setting up who I’m talking about. I drop an ellipsis and then name the profile subject. I’m not going to do that for today’s column. Part of that reason is because I don’t really know what to say about Matt Garza.
You already know his backstory by now. Well, you should because he’s been on the team long enough. You know how he came to be on the team. You likely remember about his weird vesting option set up when he signed as a free agent and the scuttlebutt around who really initiated the signing itself in the first place. You likely know all of that and don’t need it rehashed by me. So why write?
Well, I feel obligated to write about Garza to a degree. He wears #22, he’s on the team (probably) and certainly on the 40-man roster (for now). That gets him a column. But where does it go from here?
Garza didn’t have a good season in 2016. It wasn’t statistically awful, like 2015, but it wasn’t good or even above-average like 2014 was. His 4.51 ERA is actually an average right at that of the minimum qualification of a “Quality Start” (6.0 IP and 3 ER), and his ERA+ — a stat in which 100 is exactly league average — was 95 so again, it wasn’t good but not as horrific as some fans bellyaching would imply. He also began the season hurt in 2016 and took quite a bit of time to make his season debut
The thing about Garza is that he’s had a bunch of success in his career and just seems to be in the portion of the same where his body fails him. I think he knows how to pitch, goes into a game with a good plan, but just can’t execute to the degree he once could.
That’s fine, it happens to everyone at some point.
Garza is an intense clubhouse presence, at least when the media is inside of it. On days he doesn’t start, he’s loud and boisterous and keeps everyone loose. He’s talked about as a good mentor to younger pitches once the doors are closed too. On his start days his disposition is dialed up a couple of notches, but directed entirely at himself and his game. If he had a bad start, he’ll make no bones about it. He also doesn’t typically make excuses. He owns everything and that makes him a good lead-by-example guy too.
But beyond all of that, the thing about Garza that I wonder whether I should write about him for “Brewers By the (Jersey) Numbers” this year is because I don’t know where he’ll be on April 3rd. Will he be in the rotation? We know he has loathed the idea of pitching in the bullpen to this point. If he’s not in the rotation in Milwaukee, will it be because he’s been released? Could they find a trade partner if they chose to move on?
Milwaukee can actually very easily eat money this year if Garza is designated for assignment and subsequently sent through release waivers. The Brewers have seven candidates for five rotation spots, but Brewers manager Craig Counsell named two players as having spots in the rotation already locked up. The veteran Garza’s name was not listed. Garza is therefore in direct competition with Jimmy Nelson, Chase Anderson, Wily Peralta, and Tommy Milone for three spots.
I will put zero. point. zero. stock in Cactus League numbers, especially so far, but you have to consider how last year finished for each of these guys with how they are executing at some point this month. The coaching staff is looking at everything but Cactus League statistics for now, but at some point they’ll influence things. If Garza is the sixth or even seventh option, how do they handle it? Does Garza begin the season in the rotation anyway so that they can maintain depth? Garza isn’t about to go to Colorado Springs (nor should he) and the bullpen is so overcrowded that I don’t think it’s in the Brewers best interest to try to force him into that role.
Counsell and his coaching staff, no doubt with input from General Manager David Stearns and his front office, will eventually have to make the hard decisions. As Stearns has said, as the rebuild gets further and further along, the decisions will be harder and harder, but it’ll be a good thing for the future as those decisions become more difficult.
Let’s also face two big facts: 1) Garza isn’t going to be a part of the next Milwaukee team that is going to enter a season expected to contend. 2) Garza will be moving on from the Brewers before the 2018 season one way or another.
With those facts in mind, do the Brewers benefit from giving a rotation spot to Garza in lieu of letting someone else sink or swim? Garza has had three seasons to lock things down and Counsell made it clear, if the numbers didn’t, that he hasn’t totally succeeded in that endeavor.
So where does it go from here? Good question. But it’s one that will need an answer at some point.
—
Follow Matt on Twitter: @Gdeuceswild
—
Looking to catch up on this season’s BBtJN? Just click on a name below:
#59 Carlos Torres
#57 Chase Anderson
#56 Ryan Webb
#54 Michael Blazek
#53 Jhan Mariñez
#52 Jimmy Nelson
#51 Damien Magnifico
#50 Jacob Barnes
#47 Jett Bandy
#46 Corey Knebel
#45 Tyler Cravy
#41 Junior Guerra
#38 Wily Peralta
#37 Neftalí Feliz
#35 Brent Suter
#33 Tommy Milone
#29 Yadiel Rivera
#28 Jorge Lopez
#27 Zach Davies
#26 Taylor Jungmann
#25 Michael Reed
#24 Jesús Aguilar
#23 Keon Broxton
