Freddy Garcia and Adam Eaton, SPs, Philadelphia Phillies

January 23, 2007 @ 16:00:00

By Chris Kolb
Edited by Nicholas Minnix

As the 2006 Major League Baseball season came to a close last October, the Philadelphia Phillies realized how tantalizingly close they were as a professional ball club to tasting the sweet success of the playoffs. Although they finished in a distant second place behind the National League East champion New York Mets, they were in the wild card race right to the finish. They were unable to overtake the Los Angeles Dodgers in the end, though, and wound up on the outside looking in at the season's conclusion.

Headed into the offseason, one of the Phillies' biggest concerns was with their pitching staff, which was woeful at best, and had only one pitcher finish the season with double-digit wins and an ERA below 4.00 in starting pitcher Brett Myers.

Table: 2006 Philadelphia Phillies Team Pitching Statistics

IP	W	L	ER	BB	SO	ERA	WHIP
1460.1	85	77	747	512	1138	4.60	1.42

So with thoughts of a potential repeat of the semi-disaster that befell them in the 2006 season fresh in their minds, the Phillies' front office set out to obtain the services of at quality starting pitchers via trade or free agency. Enter starting pitchers Adam Eaton and Freddy Garcia, formerly of Texas Rangers and the Chicago White Sox, respectively.

Eaton has always been considered a pitcher with untapped potential, but he has been unable to live up to that billing for the most part due to a barrage of injuries throughout his career. Eaton has never logged more than 200 innings in a season in his big league career, although he did approach the total in 2003 and 2004. However, the Phillies felt comfortable signing him to a large free-agent contract as they felt that Eaton's potential reward for the franchise is greater than the potential risk he brings along with the reward.

Table: Adam Eaton - Career Statistics

Year	Team	IP	W	L	ER	BB	SO	ERA	WHIP
2000	SD	135	7	4	62	61	90	4.13	1.44
2001	SD	116.2	8	5	56	40	109	4.32	1.27
2002	SD	33.1	1	1	20	17	25	5.40	1.35
2003	SD	183	9	12	83	68	146	4.08	1.32
2004	SD	199.1	11	14	102	52	153	4.61	1.28
2005	SD	128.2	11	5	61	44	100	4.27	1.43
2006	TEX	65	7	4	37	24	43	5.12	1.57

Adding Eaton to the Phillies' existing pitching staff should bring much-needed control, in that Eaton is not a flame-throwing strikeout pitcher but rather a pitcher that has the ability to slow down a game by making hitters swing at the wrong pitches. He uses his intellect to win ballgames. Although this could wind up challenging the Phillies' defensive abilities (they finished tied for seventh in the NL in errors), it could end up helping the team immensely in the long run. Eaton also brings an arm with relatively little wear on it, which could potentially be a long-term solution to the Phillies pitching woes.

In fantasy terms, Eaton hasn't been anything worth getting excited about for the majority of his career. He doesn't strike out opposing batters with the consistency most fantasy owners would prefer, and his career ERA (4.40) does not exactly jump off the page either. With that being said, Eaton's ability to coax opposing hitters into swinging at bad pitches coupled with the Phillies' valuable run support could wind up helping his fantasy owners in the win-loss column.

Knowing full well the potential problems and injury concerns Eaton brought to the franchise, the Phillies' front office did not rest after signing Eaton to a contract. They made it well-known their desire to trade for a starting pitcher during the MLB winter meetings. They were rewarded when the White Sox agreed to part with Garcia in return for pitchers Gavin Floyd and minor leaguer Gio Gonzalez. Garcia is almost the antithesis of Eaton, in that he has been incredibly durable over the course of his career, logging more than 200 innings in seven of his eight seasons in the major leagues. That reason could have very well been the deciding factor for the Phillies' front office, considering Eaton's propensity for landing on the disabled list.

Table: Freddy Garcia - Career Statistics

Year	Team	IP	W	L	ER	BB	SO	ERA	WHIP
1999	SEA	201.1	17	8	91	90	170	4.07	1.47
2000	SEA	124.1	9	5	54	64	79	3.91	1.42
2001	SEA	238.2	18	6	81	69	163	3.05	1.12
2002	SEA	223.2	16	10	109	63	181	4.39	1.30
2003	SEA	201.1	12	14	101	71	144	4.51	1.33
2004	SEA/CHW	210	13	11	89	64	184	3.81	1.22
2005	CWS	228	14	8	98	60	146	3.87	1.25
2006	CWS	216.1	17	9	109	48	135	4.53	1.28

Garcia brings relative youth and big-game experience to the Phillies' pitching staff, having performed admirably on baseball's highest stage during the White Sox's World Series championship run in 2005. He has the ability to strike out batters with his fastball when needed, but he also has the ability to make opposing batters swing at bad pitches, and he uses both abilities equally to win ballgames, which is exactly what the Phillies need the most from him. One of Garcia's only negative attributes is that he has the tendency to disappear at times during the season and he has had some struggles in the past with his consistency, especially early on in the season. However, with that being said, Garcia has always delivered when it counts the most, as he has a 6-2 postseason record along with a solid 3.11 postseason ERA.

In fantasy terms, Garcia's arrival in Philadelphia represents intrigue for fantasy owners. Garcia has the ability to put up solid numbers this season because he is surrounded by a potent hitting lineup anchored by the reigning National League Most Valuable Player, first baseman Ryan Howard. Given a similar situation when he was with the White Sox, Garcia was dominant at times and put up outstanding numbers in wins, strikeouts and ERA.

One of the potential consequences of these two additions is the departure of starting pitcher Jon Lieber, who was acquired by the Phillies after the 2004 season. He had one very good season in 2005 before falling short of the Phillies' expectations last season. The Phillies' starting rotation will most likely leave Lieber on the outside looking in, as they currently expect the rotation to consist of Myers, Garcia, Eaton and veteran pitcher Jamie Moyer, along with the young, talented pitcher Cole Hamels. Given that situation, the team has been shopping Lieber this offseason.

In the long run, both moves could pay dividends for the Phillies, as they could have an improved veteran pitching staff coupled with their young and talented batting lineup. It's probably still unrealistic to expect them to challenge the New York Mets for the division title this season.

The signing of Eaton does carry some risk, given his past injury issues, so that also makes selecting him as a fantasy player a risk as well. He moves to hitter-friendly Citizens Bank Park, and his showing in 65 innings at the similarly generous Ameriquest Field with Texas (5.12 ERA, 11 home runs allowed) shouldn't inspire fantasy owners. A ligament strain in his finger limited him for most of last season, though. Nevertheless, Citizens Bank Park isn't as kind to pitchers as San Diego's PETCO Park, where he pitched from 2004 to 2005 and his success was marginal at best.

The move to obtain Garcia could easily prove to be a good one on the part of Phillies general manager Pat Gillick, and at the very least should give the Phillies' pitching staff some much-needed experience. Like other White Sox starters, Garcia suffered through a disappointing and inconsistent 2006. Part of that could be attributed to a large workload, particularly when including the 2005 postseason. Having pitched at U.S. Cellular Field, Garcia has experience pitching in a hitters' park. He could approach 15 wins again and end up being a solid draft day deal, although he probably won't provide fantasy owners with a stellar ERA, WHIP or strikeout totals.

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Chris Kolb
Chris Kolb has been a KFFL contributor since 2006.

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