Sorting It All Out: Garica now a Phillie

By Jared Trexler

Good morning Philadelphia! A city dying for a championship 23 years and counting should be excited today. Yes, the Philadelphia Eagles are 6-6 and in the NFC Playoffs if the six-team mess began today, but Wednesday night the Philadelphia Phillies made a halfway bold move with the possibility of more on the way.

And if you came to The Phanatic for news of the Freddy Garcia trade, you found out simultaneously with Jim Salisbury's article on Philly.com. You found out almost a half-hour before ESPN, same with CNNSI.com, ditto FOXSports.com.

The national media has a lot on its plate -- we understand -- but as soon as we got the phone call from our people in Orlando, the news was relayed to you immediately.

Now that tired minds have prevailed, let's delve into this trade from various angles. We will begin with the interpretation from the Philadelphia area scribes then shoot off our analysis of what could be the beginning, not the end.

Daily-News' Paul Hagen:
"At a winter meetings during which trades had been scarce and quality starting pitching was supposed to be nearly impossible to find, the Phillies pulled a 17-game winner out of their bright red hats last night. Righthander Freddy Garcia, a star of the 2005 postseason for the White Sox, was acquired late last night from Chicago for former Phillies No. 1 draft choice Gavin Floyd and a player to be named."
http://www.philly.com/mld/philly/sports/16182836.htm

Inquirer's Jim Salisbury:
The move, for the time being, gives the Phillies six starting pitchers, although one of them, Jon Lieber, could be dealt for much-needed bullpen help. "We got better," manager Charlie Manuel said with a smile moments after the deal was announced at Disney's Swan and Dolphin Resort, where the winter meetings will end today. "I'd say we picked us up an ace. We've got some good starting pitching."
http://www.philly.com/mld/philly/sports/16181228.htm

The first thought that entered my mind when hearing of the trade just before 10 p.m. (et) was, goodbye Jon Lieber. Every sports writer's thoughts seem to be in unison over Lieber's future with the club. Manager Charlie Manuel questioned the veteran right-hander's offseason conditioning earlier on Wednesday, then GM Pat Gillick made a move that should be a precursor to Lieber's exit.

Lieber is a poor man's Garcia, a guy who won 17 games last season and has a 116-71 record over the course of his eight-year career that started with Gillick in Seattle. He also is only on the hook for one more season at $10 million, giving the Phillies plenty of options after its conclusion. They could work out an extension (they will have plenty of money) or they could offer arbitration and obtain draft picks from the club that ultimately signs him.

Scouts I talked to early Thursday morning say they worried about Garcia's velocity in the first half of last season, when his fastball was down in the 86-88 range. However, in the second half it was back near 91 (consistent with the rest of his career) and his late-breaking movement resulted in quality start after quality start.

Garcia was 7-4 with a 4.12 ERA (more than respectable for the American League) after the All-Star break. He had a 4.11 ERA at the bandbox that is U.S. Cellular Field, which had a higher HR rate than Citizens Bank Park last season. He has won six out of nine postseason starts.

Now, subtract a DH for the majority of the season, add in a Phillies offense that led the league in runs scored, and....DREAM of the possibilities.

The Phillies aren't done. Lieber will be dealt, possibly today, for relief help. Sources told us the Phillies are kicking around a Ryan Madson-Ryan Church swap, as well as looking at free agent Aubrey Huff. Our sources tell us the Phillies may be holding out of acting on a Milwaukee deal because they want Geoff Jenkins instead of Kevin Mench and Jose Capellan instead of Derrick Turnbow, which makes sense since Jenkins is a lefty and could platoon with Aaron Rowand in right field.

That's if Rowand is a Phillie before the day is over.

It's a crazy time of year, but Gillick made a bold move that will likely trigger others. If you were giddy on Wednesday night, just imagine Thursday's possibilities.

The Phanatic's Take

Tim McManus: I thought Gillick was supposed to be the senile one in this relationship.

Honestly, I don't get it from the White Sox perspective, and that makes me a little nervous. We've seen how mentally fragile Gavin Floyd is, and Gio Gonzalez is an unproven entity. Why would a contender sacrifice one of its top pitchers for that? Wasn't Aaron Rowand supposed to be the centerpiece of this trade?

Garcia is 45 games over .500 for his career, something neither Jason Schmidt nor Barry Zito can boast. He's posted double-digit wins six times, including four 16-plus win seasons.

On the surface, it's clearly a slam dunk trade. Here's hoping nothing lies beneath.

Michael Rushton: I absolutely love this trade, even more now that Rowand isn’t even a part of it.

I said all along towards the end of last year that Floyd was no longer in the Phillies plans. After all, the club refused to call up the head-case even though they desperately needed a fifth starter and had already declared, at least Gillick had, that the season was lost. The fact they picked up such a quality pitcher for him kind of shocks me, but I’ll take it.

Maybe this will silence some of Gillick's critics ***cough, John McMullen, cough***.

Heading into the offseason, I felt adding a bat with the pitching situation in its current state was a luxury, not a necessity. Now the Phils have added two, yes two, quality arms to their rotation to mix in with Brett Myers and Cole Hamels.

Obviously, this spells the end of Lieber, but now the Phillies have the money and the chips (if they still want to move Rowand) to address the bullpen and their bench.

Wait, haven’t I felt this way before? Oh right, the Millwood trade.

John McMullen: Time to give the devil his due or the aged guy a pat on the head for finally turning off Cocoon and actually going to work. When I first heard the deal -- I said 'Too good to be true' at least for 2007. Garcia is a proven winner with a quite a bit of postseason experience so if the unthinkable happens and the Phils actually are playing October baseball, Garcia will be no shrinking violet.

I suppose Freddy could flee town after next season and Gavin Floyd or Gio Gonzalez could turn into studs down the line. But, you have to roll the dice there. Floyd has been an abject failure in Philly and Gonzalez didn't exactly light it up at Reading. This was a deal all about 2007 and Gillick took advantage of a guy desperate to create space for Brandon McCarthy.

Now if “Trader Pat” can turn Jon Lieber into another bat or significant bullpen help, it might be time to get excited.

Steve Lienert: This trade looks really good for the Phillies... which makes me really nervous. Why would Chicago give up a 17-game winner for fringe major-leaguer in Gavin Floyd and a minor-leaguer they traded to the Phillies in the Jim Thome deal? So, while optimistic, I proceed with caution.

Right now, the rotation would be Brett Myers, Cole Hamels, Freddie Garcia, Jon Lieber and Jamie Moyer. Ryan Madsen will not be yo-yoed between the bullpen and starting. And where's that leave Adam Eaton, who, by the way, ESPN called the worst signing of the offseason thus far?

That tells me Lieber is outta here, perhaps packaged with somebody else to get some sembelance of protection for Ryan Howard. Maybe we could ship Lieber and Burrell to the Mariners for Adrian Beltre? Like Garcia, he's another former Mariner who had success while Gillick was in Seattle. Yes, other shoes are about to drop. When it all plays out, Lieber and Burrell should be purged and the Phillies might actually have a shot to make the playoffs for the first time since 1993.

I usually bash the Phillies for not doing anything. At least Gillick is doing something.