Rangers History Today: The Matt Garza Trade
On this date in franchise history, the Texas Rangers finally landed Matt Garza.
On July 22, 2013, the Rangers were looking for pitching to keep their pursuit of the postseason alive. Garza had been a target before. In 2010, Garza won 15 games for Tampa Bay, and that turned into a move to the Chicago Cubs. In 2011, he went 10-10 for the Cubs, and followed that with a 5-7 record in 2012.
But, in 2013, Garza roared back with a 6-1 record in 11 starts for the Cubs, making him a hot commodity once again. The Rangers were rolling with Derek Holland, Yu Darvish and Martín Pérez as their top three starters. Garza would have given the Rangers some additional ammunition.
So the Rangers bellied up, sending prospects Mike Olt, C.J. Edwards and Justin Grimm (who went 7-7 for the Rangers before the trade), along with a player to be named later, which turned out to be Neil Ramirez.
How did the trade turn out? Well, Garza went 4-5 for the Rangers in 13 starts that season. The Rangers polished off a 91-72 record, but they still ended up finishing second in the American League West to the Oakland Athletics. But they failed to make the playoffs. The A’s went to the postseason, along with the Detroit Tigers, the Tampa Bay Rays and the Cleveland Indians, who took the Wild Card berth.
As for Garza, he was in a contract year and he moved on in 2014, signing a deal with the Milwaukee Brewers and playing four more seasons before his career ended in 2017. He finished with a career record of 93-106.
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