Reaction to Rangers trade to acquire Matt Garza from Cubs

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In a deal that had been rumored to take place for several days, the Texas Rangers pulled the hot stove trigger to acquire Matt Garza from the Chicago Cubs for prospects Mike Olt, C.J. Edwards and Justin Grimm.

There's no doubt this deal makes Texas a better team this season. But what about beyond then? Jury's still out.

The positive: Garza, 29, immediately upgrades a rotation that needs one. Frankly, I'm not sure the Rangers make the playoffs with the injuries and rookies they had in the starting rotation at the All-Star Break. Suddenly, the rotation looks very good:

1. Yu Darvish
2. Matt Garza
3. Derek Holland
4. Alexi Ogando
5. Martin Perez

Colby Lewis and Matt Harrison could return by the end of August and possibly push Ogando to the bullpen. No more starts from Grimm, Nick Tepesch, Josh Lindblom or Ross Wolf. I'm OK with that.

I heard today that the ERA of Rangers starters in June was a little over 3.00. It doubled in July. I expect this rotation to send that ERA back down quickly.

The negative: Garza is scheduled to become a free agent after the 2013 season.

Can the Rangers work out a deal to keep Garza in Arlington beyond this year? If not, he's essentially a three-month rental, and you're left without two highly regarded prospects in Olt and Edwards.

Disaster scenario: The Rangers miss the playoffs or make the wild-card play-in game and lose, while Garza signs elsewhere in the offseason. Anything outside of this scenario has a chance of being a decent deal for Texas, and that's what leaves me optimistic.

Here's a summary of who Texas is trading:

• Olt, 24, was blocked at third base by Adrian Beltre, who's locked into a contract through 2016. Olt was generally known as the Rangers' second-best prospect this season behind Jurickson Profar. He has power potential and is supposedly masterful with the glove from the hot corner. Olt was only hitting .213 with 11 homers and 32 RBIs at Triple-A, as he recovers from vision issues that plagued him earlier in the year.
• Edwards, 22, is 8-2 with a 1.83 ERA in Single-A this season, with 122 strikeouts and 34 walks. This is the part of the deal that really scares me. Edwards combined with Olt could make the Cubs look like geniuses in a few years. 
• Grimm, 25, was 7-7 with a 6.37 ERA this season in the Texas rotation. He was effective early, but has been abysmal lately, failing to pitch more than four innings in his last three turns. He's still young, though, and could become a better pitcher in the National League.

Now, onto Garza. Injuries have limited him the past two years, but when healthy, he's a well-above average pitcher who toes the line of ace status. For four straight years (2008-2011), Garza flirted with 200 innings and 200 strikeouts. He tends to walk hitters, but has improved his control in 2013, with 20 walks against 62 strikeouts (along with a 6-1 record, 3.17 ERA and 1.14 WHIP). 

Again, this is an immediate upgrade. Garza has postseason experience in 2008 and 2010 from his days in Tampa Bay. He's in the prime of his career at age 29. I can't wait to watch him pitch in a Rangers uniform.

To make this deal a true success, though, the Rangers either need to make a deep playoff run this year or start negotiating with Garza's agent on a long-term extension.