Freddy Garcia Visits Sox at The Fort
The Boston Herald's Rob Bradford reports that Freddy Garcia visited the Red Sox spring training complex in Fort Myers, FL earlier today. No deal appears imminent, but the meeting is said to be much more than a simple meet and greet. Speculation around the situation has Garcia being medically evaluated prior to a potential deal being struck. Garcia, who's coming off shoulder surgery last August, isn't expected to be ready to start until midseason.
It's an interesting concept to toy with, bringing Garcia under Sox control for when he's able to go. He certainly would keep Curt Schilling on his toes as the two would presumably be battling for the same rotation spot following the All Star break. Perhaps his presence would even get Schill to push himself so hard he would drop that whiny little kid attitude he appears to be displaying as of late. If the Sox are confident Garcia could pitch again this season, he'd also serve as good insurance in the event that Schill is not able to return, in addition to the fact that the front office would like to keep both Jon Lester and Clay Buchholz in the neighborhood of 180 innings pitched during the regular season. It's never a bad thing to have a stable of 7 or so solid starting pitchers, especially when one of those guys has one 18 win and two 17 win seasons under his belt (yes, that's Garcia).
Alright, those are the very few positives of a potential deal with Freddy, now on to the litany of negatives: first of all, HE'S NOT EXPECTED BACK UNTIL THE ALL-STAR BREAK AT THE EARLIEST! Here's a bit of Red Sox trivia: Do you know any other Sox pitcher(s) for which that statement holds true? You guessed it, Curtis Montague Schilling. What's the point of having two ailing pitchers with similar shoulder injuries hanging out on the DL all season? The Sox have already sunk $8 million into a possible 2+ months of Schill, and it's expected to take at least that much per year (with the implication being that Freddy prefers a multiyear deal, which he does) to sway Garcia. Perhaps most importantly, they've already signed Bartolo Colon, who also happens to be coming off back and arm injuries, for the same purpose, i.e. starting rotation depth. With the Colon deal able to reach $7 million for the 2008 season (it's not likely, but that's what he'll make if he makes the team and reaches 30 starts; he'll receive a base of $1.25 million for making the opening day roster, also rather unlikely) and Schilling making $8 million, we're talking about potentially having $20 million plus wrapped up in 3 starting pitchers who aren't guaranteed to make a single start between them throughout the 2008 season.
All that being said, the Sox have typically been very prudent with their player evaluations and the resulting signings. I doubt they'd sign Garcia without all due diligence. If Freddy can return to 2005-06 form when he averaged 15.5 wins and 140.5 K's over 33 games started, he'd be good enough to merit being placed in the 3rd spot in the rotation. And in the end, it's not my money Theo's throwing around, so what do I really care? Garcia would probably command more in base salary than Colon, but the contact would also likely be heavily incentive-laden.
In other team news, the Red Sox traveled to Washington, D.C. today, continuing the tradition of championship teams visiting with the president. Staunch Republican Curt Schilling could not contain his elation upon being able to touch George "Dubbya" Bush.
It's an interesting concept to toy with, bringing Garcia under Sox control for when he's able to go. He certainly would keep Curt Schilling on his toes as the two would presumably be battling for the same rotation spot following the All Star break. Perhaps his presence would even get Schill to push himself so hard he would drop that whiny little kid attitude he appears to be displaying as of late. If the Sox are confident Garcia could pitch again this season, he'd also serve as good insurance in the event that Schill is not able to return, in addition to the fact that the front office would like to keep both Jon Lester and Clay Buchholz in the neighborhood of 180 innings pitched during the regular season. It's never a bad thing to have a stable of 7 or so solid starting pitchers, especially when one of those guys has one 18 win and two 17 win seasons under his belt (yes, that's Garcia).
Alright, those are the very few positives of a potential deal with Freddy, now on to the litany of negatives: first of all, HE'S NOT EXPECTED BACK UNTIL THE ALL-STAR BREAK AT THE EARLIEST! Here's a bit of Red Sox trivia: Do you know any other Sox pitcher(s) for which that statement holds true? You guessed it, Curtis Montague Schilling. What's the point of having two ailing pitchers with similar shoulder injuries hanging out on the DL all season? The Sox have already sunk $8 million into a possible 2+ months of Schill, and it's expected to take at least that much per year (with the implication being that Freddy prefers a multiyear deal, which he does) to sway Garcia. Perhaps most importantly, they've already signed Bartolo Colon, who also happens to be coming off back and arm injuries, for the same purpose, i.e. starting rotation depth. With the Colon deal able to reach $7 million for the 2008 season (it's not likely, but that's what he'll make if he makes the team and reaches 30 starts; he'll receive a base of $1.25 million for making the opening day roster, also rather unlikely) and Schilling making $8 million, we're talking about potentially having $20 million plus wrapped up in 3 starting pitchers who aren't guaranteed to make a single start between them throughout the 2008 season.
All that being said, the Sox have typically been very prudent with their player evaluations and the resulting signings. I doubt they'd sign Garcia without all due diligence. If Freddy can return to 2005-06 form when he averaged 15.5 wins and 140.5 K's over 33 games started, he'd be good enough to merit being placed in the 3rd spot in the rotation. And in the end, it's not my money Theo's throwing around, so what do I really care? Garcia would probably command more in base salary than Colon, but the contact would also likely be heavily incentive-laden.
In other team news, the Red Sox traveled to Washington, D.C. today, continuing the tradition of championship teams visiting with the president. Staunch Republican Curt Schilling could not contain his elation upon being able to touch George "Dubbya" Bush.
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