Matt Garza Proves that Timing Truly is Everything

The Los Angeles Angels rotation, after C.J. Wilson and Jered Weaver, is littered with question marks. Even Weaver has started to show signs of breaking down, making the Angels need for a third quality starter that much more important. Yet, that did not have to be the case. The Angels had made an offer to Matt Garza, offering a four year deal worth $52 Million. However, when he did not respond in time, the Angels rescinded the offer, leading to Garza signing six weeks later with the Milwaukee Brewers.

Feb 17, 2014; Maryvale, AZ, USA; Milwaukee Brewers starting pitcher Matt Garza (22) throws in the bullpen during camp at Maryvale Baseball Park. Mandatory Credit: Rick Scuteri-USA TODAY Sports

Now we know why Garza did not respond. It turns out that he was on a vacation with his wife for their anniversary. Garza made it clear that he did not want to be disturbed, even when it came down to contract offers.

"“I was on vacation with my wife and I didn’t want to be disturbed, and it was like, ‘Here it is, we’ll pull it in a certain amount of hours.’ I didn’t have a chance to respond, so I just said, ‘Whatever. It is what it is.’”"

It seems that when Matt Garza says that he does not want to be disturbed, he truly means it. Unfortunately, Garza’s desire to get away from baseball for a few days, to the point of ignoring contract offers, turned out to potentially cost the Angels a starting pitcher. If the Angels had left that offer out there until he came back from his vacation and was more willing to discuss the contract offer, perhaps he would have been among the faces in Tempe. Instead, he is with the Brewers for essentially the same contract.

As the old saying goes, timing is everything. In this case, it truly was when it came to Matt Garza and the Angels. If only they had waited another week or two to make that offer.