Matt Garza’s advice to Cubs right-hander Jeff Samardzija: “Pitch your way out of there”

From Patrick Mooney of CSNChicago.com …

MILWAUKEE – Matt Garza has a simple message for Jeff Samardzija: “Pitch your way out of there.”

The Cubs used to be a destination, but now it sounds more like a place where the inmates are hoping for early parole. Just ask Garza, who escaped last summer, getting traded to the Texas Rangers in the heat of a pennant race.

This was after the Cubs fell to the Brewers 5-3 on Saturday night in Milwaukee and dropped to 10 1/2 game back in the National League Central standings.

Samardzija owns a stellar 1.53 ERA in five starts this season but doesn’t have a win.

“I told him: ‘It doesn’t matter, dude. You play in Chicago,'” Garza said late Saturday. “I was there and I lost 30 wins in three seasons. So it’s not your fault. Just pitch your way out of it. … There’s nothing else you can do. … I’m hoping the best for him. He’s a young kid who deserves a shot to maybe go win something.”

Samardzija is scheduled to become a free agent after the 2015 season. Negotiations about a long-term extension have not gone far, and the thought is that he might be traded at some point this summer.

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Free agent lefty reliever Aaron Loup has been given a locker in the Padres’ clubhouse, AJ Cassavell of MLB.com reported Sunday. Per MLB Network’s Jon Heyman, Loup received a one-year MLB deal with a club option for 2020. The Padres will shift right-hander Garrett Richards to the 60-day injured list to make room on the 40-man roster.

Loup, 31, began the 2018 season with the Blue Jays and was traded to the Phillies for minor league right-hander Jacob Waguespack at the midseason deadline. The veteran left-hander pitched just two innings in Philadelphia before hitting the injured list with a forearm strain and returned for a handful of appearances at the end of the year, bringing him up to a 4.54 ERA, 3.2 BB/9, 10.0 SO/9, and 0.3 fWAR across 39 2/3 combined innings.

Assuming health issues don’t complicate his next campaign in San Diego, Loup will be added to the bullpen alongside fellow left-handers Matt Strahm and José Castillo (with the possible late addition of southpaw reliever Brad Wieck, who underwent surgery for testicular cancer earlier this year). There are worse places to be — according to FanGraphs, the Padres’ ‘pen jumped from second-worst in 2017 to second-best in the league with a cumulative 3.53 ERA, 3.31 FIP, and 8.7 fWAR in 2018.