Matt Garza to Brewers: Updates and Analysis After 4-Year Contract Agreement

The Milwaukee Brewers have signed Matt Garza to a four-year contract.

The league confirmed the move via the roster moves Twitter account:

Brewers owner Mark Attanasio originally confirmed that the team had agreed to a contract with the 30-year-old starting pitcher, per Todd Rosiak of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:

Adam McCalvy of MLB.com reported what may be the dollar amount of the contract:

Milwaukee general manager Doug Melvin stated the obvious when he said that the Brewers improved with the signing of Garza:

It originally looked as if this deal was done earlier in the week, but the Brewers denied that a deal was done and talks continued into the weekend:

Garza spent the 2013 season with the Chicago Cubs and Texas Rangers, compiling a 10-6 record and a 3.82 ERA.     

There's some risk involved, as he missed part of last season dealing with an elbow injury. Back in November, though, Fox Sports' Ken Rosenthal reported that Garza's elbow wouldn't be an issue heading into the 2014 season.

The Brewers were in dire need of pitching help this offseason. After Kyle Lohse and Yovani Gallardo, the drop-off in quality was significant.

This move bolsters the rotation, but Melvin was not yet ready to commit to a set order, opting to let spring training sort that out for the club (via Rosiak):

While not an ace, Garza is a proven arm who will demonstrably improve Milwaukee's starting rotation.

The Brewers finished 16th in the league with a team ERA of 3.84 last season and 18th in opponents batting average. Garza should help the team improve upon those numbers next season.