Rumors have been swirling around that at some point this weekend, a trade between the Rangers and Cubs for Texas to acquire starting pitcher Matt Garza seemed imminent.  Since then, we have learned through multiple reports that there has been a holdup in the trade due to a medical issue from one of the Texas players involved.  This trade could still be reworked so that Garza would still end up being shipped to the Rangers, perhaps even before his next start.  So the question here is; would it be a good idea for the Rangers to make a move for Garza?

First of all, Garza is a free agent at the end of this season, and as one of the top starting pitchers in the market, he should command a good amount of money, probably somewhere around C.J. Wilson and Anibal Sanchez money, about five years and 70-80 million dollars.  The Rangers need to figure out if trading for Garza would give them a better chance of signing him in the offseason, if that is indeed their plan.  The Rangers already traded some prospects to acquire Ryan Dempster at last season’s trade deadline, and there are only so many times you can do that before you severely hurt the farm system.

If Garza is in fact just a rental to help make a playoff push this season, you have to wonder if it would be worth the cost.  The Rangers have had a terrible time keeping their rotation healthy this season, so adding a proven veteran like Garza would certainly help them surpass the Athletics in the AL West or grab one of the two wild card spots.  The rumored prospects that were headed to the Cubs in this trade were third baseman Mike Olt, and starting pitcher Neil Ramirez.  Olt is the top prospect in the Rangers organization behind Jurickson Profar, and Ramirez is one of the better pitching prospects in the organization.  If the Rangers gave up two of their top prospects up for a two month rental, that would seem awfully steep. 

This is not any easy decision to say whether or not trading for Garza would be a smart move.  We may not know the answer for months or years.  In a couple of months if Garza is a big key in the Rangers winning a World Series title, it will definitely seem worth it at the time.  In a few years if Olt is one of the top young third basemen in baseball, and the Rangers don’t win the World series or re-sign Garza, it will seem like a terrible mistake.  My gut tells me that there is no such thing as a sure-thing prospect, and in a year where there is no truly great team, Garza would be a huge boost to the Rangers’ rotation, so I think the Rangers should go ahead and make this trade, especially if they can do so without losing Olt in the process.