The Mets are in agreement with free agent reliever Rico Garcia on a minor league contract, reports Anthony DiComo of MLB.com (X link). The Gaeta Sports Management client gets an invite to big league Spring Training on a deal that would pay him a $900K base salary if he makes the big league roster.
Garcia is trying to work back to the big leagues after spending this year in Triple-A. The righty had a nice year for Washington’s top affiliate. Garcia saved 20 games and turned in a 3.94 ERA through 61 2/3 innings. He struck out a massive 34.1% of opposing hitters. That came with a fair number of free passes, as an 11.5% walk rate is perhaps the biggest reason he didn’t get an MLB look.
The 30-year-old Garcia has pitched in parts of four big league campaigns between five teams. He has struggled to a 7.32 earned run average over 35 2/3 innings. His most recent MLB action came with 10 appearances between the Athletics and Nationals in 2023. Garcia hasn’t carried over much bat-missing ability to the highest level. His 12.4% career strikeout rate is well below average.
New York has made a couple bullpen depth additions since the offseason began. They gave Dylan Covey a major league contract last week. The 40-man spot gives Covey a leg up on Garcia and whichever other relievers the Mets add as non-roster invitees, but there’s likely to be a fair amount of competition for middle relief roles in camp.
Wrong Rico, Anthony
The Mets bullpen strategy is starting to look like Pokemon—catch them all and hope one evolves into an ace.
Saving the $$ for the Big Boys
Classic Stearns. Would not be surprised if he hits on 1 out of 3. No harm stashing the misses in AAA
Completely agree. And it seemed like when he was doing the same thing last year, a lot of folks on here were bashing him.
A lot of folks base their opinions on the player’s numbers. Baseball people who make these decisions look beyond that; they scout and watch the actual player. Maybe there’s something someone in the Mets organization saw and liked. The cash outlay is relatively small, even if Garcia makes the big-league roster. And if he doesn’t, the Mets have hardly spent money on him.