As the hot stove continues to burn away, general managers will surely focus first on getting a nice Christmas gift in the form of a starting pitcher for their respective teams. While the offseason seas are relatively quiet with only a couple marquee players being reeled in, the inevitable frenzy is bound to have general managers scrambling around like Arnold Schwarzenegger in Jingle All the Way. One of the big starting pitcher prizes this year is former Mariner Freddy Garcia who finished out a three year contract as a member of the Philadelphia Phillies last year. His season was a short one due to a shoulder injury that required surgery on his labrum and rotator cuff. Garcia's agent, Peter Greenberg, said that the Mets have shown "considerable interest" in Garcia as well as some other teams. The Mets just missed out on Freddy Garcia last year when the White Sox sent him to the Phillies for highly touted pitching prospects Gavin Floyd and Gio Gonzalez.
Many Mariner fans are wondering about the possibility of the Mariners bringing back Garcia, a fan-favorite during his years in Seattle. Will it happen this offseason? Probably not, thankfully. According to the New York Daily News, Garcia "should be ready to pitch by midseason, perhaps as early as June." Garcia's agent confirmed that diagnosis and discussed the alternative of Garcia not signing a contract until he's healthy;
"If something is right at the winter meetings, maybe he'll sign or maybe he'll wait and maybe make more money. He'd be a guy for the second half. Contenders are looking for pitching around that time and you wouldn't have to trade for it then. If we did a showcase and we reached a deal, we'd let a team do a physical and do a Roger Clemens, a prorated deal for that season plus any extra years."
In my opinion, the only way the Mariners should pursue Garcia is if he remains a free agent into the middle of the season and if the Mariners' fate is still in their hands at that time. Signing a starting pitcher in the dark while his health is uncertain and his ability is jeopardized by his injury is extremely risky, especially for a player of his caliber. So when it comes down to it, I'd rather see a lump of coal under the Christmas tree than Freddy Garcia; atleast you can use the coal. He could make a nice graduation present though...
http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/baseball/mets/2007/11/24/2007-11-24_mets_interested_in_freddy_garcia.html
11/24/07
Fred Claus
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2 comments:
i didn't realize he wouldn't be ready until that late. i too wouldn't take a chance unless he is unsigned come midseason.
I didn't realize he'd be out that long either...I'm willing to guess that he won't sign anywhere until he is healthy...He actually might get more money that way because he could do a physical for a team at the time to prove he is healthy and ready to pitch...If he signs this offseason any team would give him significantly less money because they'd be taking a giant risk that he might not pitch at all next year...If he waits until midseason when he's healthy and teams are in dire need of good pitching for the stretch run he can demand more money...I'd have to wait until the time comes to decide if the Mariners should go after Garcia...They might not even need him by that time...They probably will but I can hope that we make enought good moves this offseason not to need Garcia in the middle of next season...
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