We got him for his innings. Reliable ones. We weren't sure we had reliable innings when we got him. That was his value.
But spring (training) reveals new blooms; Moore and Povse, in our case.
And then there's Miranda. All three of those guys are breathing down his neck right now, and are likely better. Well, two of the three are...pick 'em. If the other four guys in the rotation stay healthy, then Gallardo is likely to have pitched himself into oblivion by the end of May. Or earlier, because one of the M-P-M guys is going to get hot and get the call. For his career, his worst three months are July-August-September. If he starts off cold, he isn't likely to get better.
Gallardo is really only a $4M man for us, because the Seth Smith salary was a sunk cost anyway. And we weren't getting a bunch of offers for Smith, it seems. I had no problem with the trade and the promise of the innings. Still don't.
I just don't think he will stay in the rotation long enough to get to those innings, barring injury to one of the current rotation. If that happens, then the Gallardo innings are even more valuable, as shaky as they will be. When we got Gallardo we didn't have Smyly, Povse or the clearer view we now have on Moore.
I still think getting him made "sense" in many ways. So will releasing him, if it comes to that.