It was reported Thursday that free agent right-hander Matt Garza and the Milwaukee Brewers came to terms on a four-year $52 million deal, but the claim was later disputed by the team as talks between the two parties are still ongoing and a deal could be struck soon.
The Brewers released a statement to clear up the misunderstanding on Thursday night:
"Despite media reports, negotiations between the Brewers and Matt Garza are ongoing, but there is no deal yet," the statement read, according to CBS Sports.
Garza, who has been plagued by injuries over the last two seasons, will likely find a home soon now that Japanese superstar Masahiro Tanaka landed with the New York Yankees, enabling the teams that lost out on the sweepstakes to start negotiating with other pitchers now that Tanaka will not be on their club.
Garza, 30, split time with the Chicago Cubs and Texas Rangers last season, playing 11 games for the Cubs and 13 for the Rangers, and he went 10-6 with a 3.82 ERA, 1.24 WHIP and 136 strikeouts in 155.1 innings.
If the Brewers do in fact add Garza, he'll join a probable starting rotation that includes Yovani Gallardo, Kyle Lohse, Marco Estrada and Wily Peralta. Garza seems to fare better in the National League, where he went 21-18 with a 3.45 ERA and 1.21 WHIP with the Cubs through 60 starts.
Garza remains on a free agent list of pitchers that includes Ubaldo Jimenez, Ervin Santana and Bronson Arroyo while Santana and Arroyo have draft pick compensation tied into their future deals.
The Brewers are looking to bounce back from a 2013 season that saw the team go 74-88 while missing the playoffs for the second straight year and also having to deal with slugger and face of the franchise Ryan Braun missing 65 games for being tied to the Biogenesis scandal and performance enhancing drugs.
Garza would be a welcome addition to the Brew Crew's rotation, but it remains to be seen if he'll sign.
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