Dec. 7 -- GARCIA IN; WHAT NEXT?

Good morning all. As you know by now, or are finding out as you awaken today, the Phillies completed a trade late last night with the White Sox for RHP Freddy Garcia. It's a huge triumph for the Phils, who had struck out earlier in the off-season in their pursuits of free-agent slugger Alfonso Soriano and setup man Joe Borowski and failed to re-sign LHP Randy Wolf.

This time, GM Pat Gillick got his man.

Garcia, 31, is a workhorse. As you'll see here in his complete career stats, he has pitched at least 201 innings and made at least 31 starts in each of the last six seasons. To say that manager Charlie Manuel was beaming during the announcement of the deal at about 11 p.m. last night would be an understatement. He was practically giddy as he said, "I think we picked ourselves up and ace." Garcia will make $10 million in 2007, then hit the free-agent market.

About an hour later, a Philly radio station called to ask if I'd go on the air and offer my impressions of the trade. Good deal, I said, not only because they got a solid starter without having to relinquish CF Aaron Rowand, but also for the flexibility it now gives the Phillies in the marketplace.

When baseball GMs came here Sunday, everyone knew the White Sox had a surplus of starting pitching. And, in this market, that's a HUGE asset. Now, the Phillies have that excess. Only one big-name starter (Barry Zito) is left on the free-agent market, and judging by the deals given yesterday to Jason Schmidt and Ted Lilly, Zito could command upwards of $18 million per year for six years. That's a big commitment. Teams will be lining up to talk trade with the Phils, who have RHP Jon Lieber to offer and a need for two power arms at the back of the bullpen. It should be easier for them to acquire those relievers now.

This also sets up an interesting scenario in the outfield. All along, the Phils thought getting Garcia would cost them Rowand. But now, with Rowand still in the mix, might they more aggressively shop LF Pat Burrell? From what I could tell, there wasn't much interest in Burrell at the winter meetings here this week, but that could change. This market is, if nothing else, very fluid.

Either way, the Phils pulled off a coup last night. No wonder Charlie Manuel was grinning.

Later today: the Rule 5 draft will be underway in about an hour. I'll post updates when it's finished. After that, the Phils contingent will head home, and so will I. I'll check in a few more times this afternoon before leaving Orlando. Hopefully it's not too cold up north!