Brewers Officially Announce Signing Of Matt Garza

Mandatory Credit: Jim Cowsert-USA TODAY Sports

It’s official.

Matt Garza is the newest member of the Milwaukee Brewers after signing a four-year, $50 million contract with a  fifth year vesting option. Garza has the potential to earn up to $67 million when it’s all said and done.

Rumors of Garza inking with Milwaukee began on Thursday after Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports reported that Garza had agreed to a four-year, $52 million contract. However, in a relatively uncommon move, the Brewers announced that no deal was set and that discussions were ongoing.

But three days later, the deal was done. Owner Mark Attanasio announced the signing at the annual ‘Brewers On Deck’ event at the Wisconsin Center on Sunday and according to him, the Brewers had been talking to Garza for weeks.

Aside from adding a first baseman, for which the Brewers added Lyle Overbay and Mark Reynolds, acquiring more pitching always tops the priority list in Milwaukee.

“You can never have enough pitching depth, and I would argue we have as much pitching depth as we’ve had in my 10 seasons of ownership,” Attanasio said on Sunday.

Garza, 30, has a career 3.84 ERA across seven major-league seasons. He split time between the Chicago Cubs and the Texas Rangers in 2013. Per ESPN Stats and Info, Garza had one of the nastiest sliders last season.

The right-hander joins Kyle Lohse, Yovani Gallardo, Wily Peralta, and Marco Estrada in the starting rotation, with Tyler Thornburg and Will Smith will getting a chance to compete for a spot. However, the odds are against them and beginning the year in the bullpen seems the likely path.

Signing Garza is the biggest free-agent deal in Milwaukee Brewers history.