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Tampa Bay Ray fans are watching their team fall apart by the seams of Matt Garza‘s 95 mile per hour fastball.

The Chicago Cubs have acquired SP Matt Garza, a minor league pitcher and OF Fernando Perez for a plethora of young players including OF Sam Fuld and RHP Chris Archer, the 2010 Minor League Baseball Pitcher of the Year.

Garza, who threw a no-hitter in 2010, went 15-10 with a 3.91 ERA while being the Rays No. 1 starter. Now, he can pack his bags, as he now moves to Wrigley Field.

Garza had an up-and-down season, yet carried the staff of the Rays into the playoffs. He joins a pitching staff with Ryan Dempster (15-12, 3.85 ERA), “Big Z” Carlos Zambrano, who, just like Garza, had an up-and-down season with a stellar second half of his season going 8-0 with a ERA under 2.00.

Tampa Bay now gains young talent in Archer, a young OF in Fuld, C Robinson Chirinos, OF Brandon Guyer and SS Hak-Ju Lee. All are considered long-term talent two to three years down the road and they may be important parts of the Rays’ youth movement to go along their own bunch of talented young players.

The Cubs‘ rotation now features potentially Garza, Dempster and Zambrano, a formidable rotation to win.

The Rays’ rotation now features potentially James Shields, Jeremy Hellickson and David Price.

If the Cubs could get into the thick of things in their division, could they pull it out?

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The Cubs have agreed to acquire right-handed pitcher Matt Garza from the Tampa Bay Rays for a package of prospects on Friday. The Cubs will send Chris Archer, Brandon Guyer, Robinson Chirinos, Hak Ju-Lee and Sam Fuld to the Rays for Garza and a minor-league pitcher and a minor-league outfielder, according to Bruce Levine.

Garza is only 27, so he is a young pitcher who will be under club control for three years. So why would the Rays trade him? For one, they are trading from a position of strength. They already have a solid rotation  penciled in for 2011. 

Further, the Rays are in cost-cutting move and Garza is arbitration eligible. He earned $3.35 million last season and stands to earn around $6 million in 2011.

Plus, the haul for the Rays is terrific. They obtain arguably the Cubs’ top pitching prospect in Archer, whose ceiling is that of a No. 2 or No. 3 starter in the MLB, and a potential star in shortstop Hak Ju-Lee, who is only 20 and a defensive whiz with speed and an offense that may not be powerful, but should be effective.

The fact that the Cubs were able to make this trade without giving up Starlin Castro, Tyler Colvin or Andre Casher is somewhat of a coup for GM Jim Hendry. Still, this trade really strips the Cubs system bare. 

Let’s take a look at this trade from multiple angles, see why it was made and what it means going forward.

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Entering his final year of salary arbitration, Jonathan Papelbon will likely cash in on a big pay day following the 2011 season. 

However, with a declining skill set and Daniel Bard as the closer of the future, there is next to no chance he signs a long term deal with the Boston Red Sox.

Papelbon is due to make roughly $11 million for the coming season.

The presence of Bard and the acquisition of Bobby Jenks makes the possibility that Papelbon does not finish the year with the Red Sox all the more likely.

Without further delay here are 10 Jonathan Papelbon trades that make sense for the Boston Red Sox.

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So far this offseason, there has been much talk of the Rays moving Matt Garza and even possibly James Shields. With the big losses of Carl Crawford to Boston and Carlos Pena to Chicago, Rafael Soriano’s pending signing with a new squad, along with Jason Bartlett having been dealt to San Diego, it’s easy to expect a drop off from a Rays team that won the division just a year ago. However, it is not time to consider moving two of their top pitchers when they have so much dynamic talent coming up from the system soon.

The fact is that the Rays have players coming up through the system that will be able to replace the big names lost so far this winter, and together form one of the best minor league systems in all of baseball.

At the top of the list, and cream of the crop, is OF Desmond Jennings. Reading a scouting report on Jennings makes one think immediately of Carl Crawford: blazing speed, low strike out rates, and enough power to get by as a prototypical lead off hitter. He should be able to step in and come close to replacing Crawford’s numbers after a few years’ experience in the majors.

After moving Bartlett, the SS position is currently open. However, there is no shortage of talent at this position in the system either. Reid Brignac, who has already seen solid major league time could very well be handed the reins to the SS position this season, and he could be productive enough to get by for a season or two. Ben Zobrist has also seen time at SS, although he seems to be locked into RF for the time being.

But the real prize is still in the minor leagues. Tim Beckham, first round pick from two years ago, was once thought to be a sure fire major leaguer who would shoot up through the system to become the Rays’ next great SS, but he has had some troubles.

Most recently, he has seen declines at the plate and struggles in the field, but the kid is only two years removed from high school ball. He has a tremendous skill set that has seen him be described as a “Five Tool Player” in the majors, and that talent has not dissipated. A couple more years in the minors should give him time to adjust to the pro game and get back on the major league track. It is much too soon to even begin to think about giving up on such a talent.

The Rays also own the most talented collection of arms coming up to the majors.  

Jeremy Hellickson excelled in his first major league stint, to say the least. His short time in the majors saw him go 4-0 while striking out 33 and walking only eight over 36.1 innings. He had both the Rays organization and Rays fans salivating over what he could do given a full year in the majors. His time in Tampa was only a microcosm of his season in Triple A Durham, however. For the Bulls, he went 12-3 with 123 K’s in 117.2 innings, to go along with a WHIP of 1.173. He also saw tremendous ratios of 9.4 K/9 while allowing only 2.7 BB/9. He has often been compared to Roy Oswalt.   

Wade Davis is yet another long time stalwart of the Rays’ talented minor league system. He has seen some extensive time at the major league level, going 12-10 and finishing 4th in the A.L. Rookie of the Year voting last season. Given some more time to develop at the pro level, Davis, along with Hellickson and Price, could very well anchor the rotation for years to come.

Left hander Matt Moore is yet another of Tampa’s elite level arms who could see major league time in the near future. Last season for A level Charlotte, Moore struck out an impressive 208 batters in just 144.2 innings, a ratio of 12.9 per 9 innings.  While control has been a bit of an issue for Moore (he walked 4.4 per 9 to go along with those 208 K’s), he has plenty of time and the talent to be able to correct his issues with wildness. Despite those walks, Moore did also have a very impressive 1.175 WHIP a year ago. Moore’s potential is out of this world and as a premier lefty, he will be given every shot available to excel at the major league level. 

A possible rotation of Garza, Shields, David Price, Hellickson and Davis in the near future is one that is loaded with talent and has the potential to be one of the league’s best. If either Davis or Hellickson should falter, or if Garza does indeed end up being traded or leaving via free agency, Matt Moore could easily step in to fill that spot and be a dominant pitcher in the majors.

The bottom line is that it is not time for Tampa Bay to panic. Now that the team has become accustomed to winning baseball and has been able to compete in the rugged A.L. East, 90 win seasons have come to be the expected norm for the squad.

However, 2011 may be a bridge year for Tampa. While 85-90 wins could still be on the horizon (the team is still loaded with talent in Evan Longoria, BJ Upton, Zobrist and the aforementioned starting rotation), a much improved Boston team and a New York team that won 95 games a year ago and hasn’t changed a bit, should make it difficult for the Rays to challenge for the division crown after losing the players that they have.  

However, patience should be key for the Rays, who have a plethora of young help coming soon. It is not time to blow up what they already have and what is their strong point, the rotation, just for one bridge year. 

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Heading into the offseason, the Yankees considered themselves favorites to land Cliff Lee, and the Rangers definitely thought they had a chance. The Angels though they could sign Carl Crawford, and several teams around the league believed they could bring in Zack Greinke.

With all three players off the market—Lee in Philly, Greinke in Milwaukee and Crawford in Boston—GM’s around baseball are scrambling to find that backup plan, fill their budgets and put a competitive team on the field heading into 2011.

Some backup moves work out. But when teams panic, things rarely go well.

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With Cliff Lee expected to sign with the Philadelphia Phillies today, the dominoes will be in motion for the next big move. The only remaining starting pitcher worth committing significant dollars to is Carl Pavano, and even that statement merits some debate.

That means that teams still looking for starting pitching will turn to the trade market to solve their offseason needs. Kansas City Royals ace Zack Greinke is the best pitcher supposedly available and is getting a tremendous amount of attention. But so far teams have balked at the Royals’ asking price.

That might leave Rays righty Matt Garza as the most attractive option available.

Ken Rosenthal of FoxSports.com recently raised the possibility that many teams would prefer Garza over Greinke because Garza would be under team control for an additional year and would come at a cheaper price. Does this mean that Garza is suddenly the best option for teams desperate for pitching?

Let’s take a look.

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There has been a lot of focus on the 2010 free agent signings during the “hot stove” season.

But what about a good old-fashioned trade?

Now that Cliff Lee is off the board, the pool of free agents has begun to slither away.

Here is a look at 10 teams that could potentially be involved in a blockbuster trade that might shift the course of power in both the American and National League.

Some teams have aging sluggers that need a fresh start, some have a big-time player that has become too expensive, while others need that slugger and are willing to dip into their farm system to get him.

Which teams will pull the trigger?

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Cliff Lee’s imminent free-agent destination is no certainty yet, but there’s one reason he would re-sign with the Rangers (his family) and 160,000,000 proverbial reasons he would sign with the Yankees.  Maybe there is a chance his family is reason enough to sign with the Rangers, but, as we have often learned this time of year: the Yankees + desperation mode = new Yankees.  Think for a moment of the last time you remember the Yankees turning up as offseason losers and you will understand the likelihood they lose out on Lee.

But the rest of the league, known as “Other 28,” still could make waves by adding starting pitchers this offseason.  Some teams are blessed with an abundance of arms, while others are cursed with low revenues and looming free agency.  Other teams sign or make deals for pitchers each offseason but still always have a need (I’m looking at you, Milwaukee). 

Here, then, are 10 pitching targets for teams missing out on Cliff Lee.

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Now that the Winter Meetings are over and Carl Crawford and Jayson Werth have signed mammoth contracts, what’s next? What other impact free-agents are still out there? 

It looks more likely this winter that there will be significant player movement via trade. In this economic climate it makes sense for smaller market teams to trade players who are looking at large salary increases in the near future in exchange for younger players that they can control for a significant amount of time.

Let’s take a look at 15 of the various rumors still circulating and see if they have any juice behind them.

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Free agent Carl Crawford signed a monster deal yesterday with the Boston Red Sox.

Crawford signed a seven-year, $142 million deal, a huge move for Boston who recently traded for first baseman Adrian Gonzalez.

With Crawford off the market, who will be the next big name free agent to sign?

Jon Heyman of SI.com is reporting that the New York Yankees have offered starter Cliff Lee a seven-year deal. The Yankees originally had a six-year deal worth roughly $140 million.

After the seven-year deals Jayson Werth and Carl Crawford received, teams do not have much of a choice but to offer Lee the same type of deal.

Lee has been on the Yankees radar since the midpoint in the regular season and they are not about to let their top priority get away from them, especially since the Red Sox locked up Carl Crawford.

Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports has reported that Lee will sign with a team by Sunday.

Also around the league, the Baltimore Orioles are working on a trade for shortstop J.J. Hardy, and the Milwaukee Brewers are trying to improve their pitching staff by signing Carl Pavano.

The two sides have yet to reach an agreement as the Brewers do not want to sign Pavano past two years.

Also in the National League, the Chicago Cubs have reportedly contacted the Tampa Bay Rays about pitcher Matt Garza, according to ESPN Chicago.

There are plenty of big moves being made and still some big names available. Expect a few signings and trades over the weekend.

Source: Jon Heyman on Twitter, ESPN Chicago, Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports

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