Could Garza Wear Pinstripes in 2012?

According to Buster Olney (via Twitter) the bidding for Matt Garza has begun, and reportedly the Cubs are willing to listen to all offers. Given the fact that the Yankees recently put together a trade package for Giants starter Matt Cain, I would expect them to be in on Garza as well. According to Frank Russo of NY Baseball Digest, the package the Yankees offered the Giants was

"a combination of at least one position player and several minor league pitchers. Some of the names that were bandied about were Jesus Montero, Nick Swisher, and different minor league talent that included names such as Dellin Betances, Adam Warren, David Phelps and Hector Noesi."

Indeed, it is exactly that minor league pitching talent that leads Tim Dierkes at MLBTR to believe that the Yankees have a good shot at landing Garza. And with C.J. Wilson‘s astronomical salary expectations, Yu Darvish‘s posting to MLB being complicated by his pending divorce, and Mark Buehrle being pursued by nearly every team in baseball, the trade market is looking more and more attractive.

So what would the Yankees need to give up to get Garza? Well Garza is no Matt Cain, but the Cubs are selling high and Garza will still command a significant price in a trade. As our friends over at Cubbies Crib point out, Garza is under team control for the 2012 and 2013 seasons, and it must not be forgotten that the Cubs gave up four of their Top-20 prospects to land Garza in the first place. The Yankees have made clear that for the right price they would be willing to move Jesus Montero, and it has been widely assumed that Nick Swisher would be trade bait since the moment the Yankees exercised his option. If Brian Cashman is to be believed Eduardo Nunez won’t be available, but the right side of the Cubs infield would be set with Starlin Castro and a re-signing of free agent Aramis Ramirez anyway. Assuming that Montero is the centerpiece of a deal and Swisher is also included, the Cubs would likely be looking for a highly touted pitching prospect, possibly in the form of Dellin Betances or Hector Noesi, who has put in some strong performances in winter ball. Personally, I’d rather give up Betances, as I very much like what I have seen from Noesi. But of course, the Cubs will be looking for the best available arm, so Noesi would likely be their top choice.

Garza could be traded within the next week, and if he doesn’t land in New York we may be looking at a very quiet offseason. As Andrew Marchand pointed out yesterday, Cashman was willing to sit tight after missing out on Cliff Lee last year, and the same could be the case this year if the Yankees swing and miss at their main targets. Of course, the offseason is still young, and as long as Darvish, Wilson, and Buehrle are out there as possibilities for the 2012 rotation, I would never write the Yankees off.