The pressure's on AA now. If they're serious about contending this year, a deal's gonna have to get done. As a fan, it would say a lot if they just sat back and rode out the injuries by filling the gaps with minor-leaguers.
Yeah, I've heard Garza and perhaps Dempster might be available. Neither would come cheaply though, at least in terms of salary. I'm sure the Cubs would love to dump those guys:
Garza 2-5 4.04
$9.5M/yr free agent 2014.
Dempster 3-3 2.11
$14/yr free agent 2013.
For some perspective, Romero's making $5M this year and $7.5M for the next three. The final year of his contract (2016) will see him make $13M.
Morrow's making $4M this year and $8M for the following two seasons. The final year he'll make $10M (team option).
Anyway, those two guys are fairly expensive so I wonder whether AA will pull the trigger on a deal for either of them.
Otherwise, the rotation will be filled with the likes of Villanueva, Laffey, Coello, Carreno, Jesse Chavez, Scott Richmond, etc. Young pitcher Deck McGuire hasn't adjusted well to AA ball going 2-8 with a 6.72 ERA. Not sure he's ready to take the mound for the Jays.
Total bummer.
