Garcia Signs New Minor League Deal With Orioles

THURSDAY: Garcia has accepted his assignment to Triple-A, according to Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun (on Twitter). The Orioles have confirmed the move, announcing that Garcia has opted out of his prior deal and re-signed a new minor league contract. He is no longer on the 40-man roster.

MONDAY, 2:40pm: The Orioles announced (via Twitter) that they have optioned Garcia to Triple-A Norfolk. Ghiroli tweets that Garcia has the right to decline the option and become a free agent. For the time being, however, Garcia remains on the 40-man roster.

2:20pm: Freddy Garcia told Brittany Ghiroli of MLB.com that he will be placed on waivers by the Orioles. He has no plans to retire and could become a free agent or accept an assignment to Triple-A Norfolk (Twitter links). Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun reports (via Twitter) that Garcia has technically been designated for assignment and not strictly waived just yet. Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com adds that Kevin Gausman has been recalled and is listed as a reliever on the team's lineup card (Twitter link).

The 36-year-old Garcia totaled 53 innings for the Orioles this season, posting a 5.77 ERA with 4.4 K/9, 2.0 BB/9 and a 40 percent ground-ball rate. The veteran hurler has become increasingly homer-prone since a solid 2011 campaign with the Yankees, as he's yielded an alarming 34 homers in his past 160 1/3 big league innings. Were his lofty homer-to-flyball ratio to stabilize around the league average, xFIP projects a 4.54 ERA for the 15-year veteran.