The Nationals recently signed reliever Edgar García to a minor league contract. He’s been assigned to the team’s Double-A affiliate in Harrisburg, where he made his organizational debut yesterday.
García, 25, pitched in the majors each season from 2019-21. He’s logged time with four different clubs — the Phillies, Rays, Reds and Twins — and totaled 57 innings over 52 appearances. He owns a cumulative 7.74 ERA as he’s struggled immensely both to keep the ball in the park and avoid free passes. The righty averaged 94 MPH on his fastball last season, though, and he’s generated swinging strikes on a decent 11.3% of his career offerings.
A native of the Dominican Republic, García has had a lot more success keeping runs off the board in the minors. He owns a 3.20 ERA across 78 2/3 career Triple-A innings. García struggled with his control at that level last season, but he’d had capable strikeout and walk numbers in the minors before the 2021 campaign. That track record had been enough to intrigue a few organizations in recent years, and the Nats will see if he can get on track in another new environment.
Should García get off on a good run in the upper minors, there should be a path back to the major leagues. That he’s been assigned to Double-A rather than Triple-A Rochester could indicate he’ll need an extended impressive performance to put himself on the MLB radar, but the Washington bullpen is largely wide open. The Nationals have the league’s fourth-worst bullpen ERA (4.59) and ninth-worst strikeout/walk rate differential (12.3 percentage points).
Don’t forget that every good RP the Nationals have, could be traded by the deadline, they will need guys to pitch. Good landing spot.