Could the signing of Paul Maholm mean a Matt Garza trade is more likely?

First of all, let me preface this by saying that I am in no way saying that Paul Maholm is as good a pitcher as Matt Garza.

However, with that said, it appears that the Cubs have signed Paul Maholm, as he indicates in his twitter feed.

At the same time, it appears that talks involving trading Matt Garza to the Detroit Tigers have intensified recently.

David Kaplan of CSNChicago.com indicates that talks between the Cubs and Tigers are "down the road" and by that he means they have progressed "far beyond the initial stages."

Maybe its just a coincidence, as GM Jed Hoyer said just last week that the Cubs wanted to add more pitching depth.  However, the Cubs now have 6 starters (Garza, Randy Wells, Travis Wood, Chris Volstad and Ryan Dempster) for 5 spots, which gives them the leverage to trade one of them.  Both Garza and Wells were rumored to be trade candidates earlier this offseason, but Garza appears to be the only one of them in demand at this time.

If the Cubs do decide to keep Garza, it wouldn't be a bad thing.  Travis Wood still has a minor league option and can be sent to AAA to start the season, providing the Cubs with some quality pitching depth, which was sorely lacking last year.

The Cubs now have more leverage to trade Garza, but won't hesitate to keep him, if they cannot get what they want in return.

Its a good position to be in.