The Dodgers agreed to a minor league contract with veteran reliever Luis García, reports Aram Leighton of Just Baseball. The signing comes with a non-roster invitation to big league camp.
García had mixed results in 2024. The hard-throwing sinkerballer pitched reasonably well for the Angels early in the year. Signed to a $4.25MM free agent deal, he pitched his way into a setup capacity for Halos skipper Ron Washington. García turned in a 3.71 earned run average through 43 2/3 innings. He posted roughly average strikeout (22%) and walk (7.7%) rates with a strong 51.2% ground-ball percentage. García recorded four saves and 11 holds while only relinquishing two leads.
As a veteran rental on a non-competitive team, García was an obvious deadline trade candidate. It nevertheless registered as a surprise that the Halos were able to get four players from the Red Sox when they flipped him. Boston didn’t part with any top-end talents, but they included a trio of players (Niko Kavadas, Ryan Zeferjahn and Matthew Lugo) who were on the doorstep of the majors. Kavadas and Zeferjahn each debuted with the Halos after the trade, with the latter performing well to put himself in consideration for an Opening Day bullpen job.
The deal didn’t work out well for Boston. García missed a couple weeks late in the season with elbow inflammation. He was tagged for 15 runs across 15 1/3 innings in a Sox uniform. That pushed his season ERA to an unimpressive 4.88 mark through 59 frames. The tough finish evidently prevented him from finding a guaranteed deal as he enters his age-38 season.
García nevertheless makes for an intriguing depth option. He has gotten grounders on at least half the batted balls he has allowed in each of the last three years. Despite his age, García still throws hard. He averaged 96 MPH on his heater with the Halos and had a velocity uptick in Boston even though he battled the minor elbow concern. He’d have a tough time cracking the Dodger bullpen if everyone’s healthy but adds an experienced depth piece with Michael Kopech and Evan Phillips each delayed in camp.
Depth for the depth of the depth.
Depth for the depth’s depth of the depth
Wild bathymetry
Un-fathoms-able
Hoping I’m not the only one shocked to find they’d added a solid Astros rotation piece on a minor league deal…just to find out, ah, that Luis Garcia
Nor is it the Nationals’ 2B!
I know that not many fans like the Dodgers these days. But if you can look past that stuff, this is a smart flyer on an intriguing veteran reliever.
Plenty of fans like the Dodgers. They are, in fact, called Dodgers fans.
40 Pitchers took the mound during the season for the 2024 WS Champions. 40.
Not surprising they continue to sign pitchers.
I thought the number would have been higher
The Seattle Mariners set a Major League Baseball record by using 42 pitchers in 2019. That broke the previous mark of 40 pitchers used by the Mariners in 2017 and the Texas Rangers in 2014 (and now the 2024 Dodgers).
Something to shoot for.
Great info, thanks
What is the record for fewest in the last 50 years? I know that the 1976 AL West Champions Kansas City Royals used only 37 players, 17 being pitchers. I don’t care if the team made the playoffs or not.
The 1976 Royals did make the playoffs. You can look it up.
Tampa Bay used 46 pitchers in 2018.
It’s a little over 50 yea4s ago, but the O’s used 12 pitchers in 1970 and 13 1971 and 11 in 1972.
Earl Weaver would go with just 8 pitchers from time to time
Now that I checked, Weaver had other years with just 11 or 12 pitchers as well
Teams in that era went with 4-man starting rotations and carried 10 pitchers, sometimes 11.
@Buy that’s pretty incredible
Here we go again
Go where?
It’s a minor league signing, I feel like you should be able to breathe through this one. It’s going to be ok.
He could turn things around but he was BP when he was with the Padres.
He really wasn’t that bad in SD. 108 OPS+. 3.73 ERA.
That’s good and all but he almost always blew the lead no matter what it was
For real this time: “Your team can do this too!”
Tell me about it. This guy would be one of the better relievers on the Rockies. Instead he is going to be a mop up guy at AAA just waiting for injuries to happen.
Woah woah hiflew!
Monfort’s FO can’t be trying to sign a potential BP guy like Garcia while ALSO working on extension with Brent Doyle!
That’s multitasking on a level the Rockies org is not ready for just yet. Maybe after they’re done paying Arenado.
Garcia was great for the angels last year
@gold masters. Geat for the angels because of the return he got from the redsox.
Quantity doesn’t mean quality.
@darren are talking about your quantity over quality posts or the fact that all three were mlb ready prospects lugo didn’t get called up, because he got hurt and look at garcia’s numbers/peripherals To zeferjahn’s.
Sign Joe Kelly to a minor league contract everyone mariachi Joe
The only thing joe does is throw 100 at an old age but that’s his only pitch
Besides he has the most hittable 100 out there so just because you throw hard doesn’t mean you are good
No harm in bringing him in on a minor league
More like no need in bringing him in
@big. No arguing that fact minor league deals have no risk.
Joe Kelly was barely worse in 2024 than he was in 2018-2019 when he won the WS in 2018.
Just announced by the commissioner….the Dodgers have been granted all of the remaining free agents and can sign them to contracts with money deferred until the year 2200. They have been granted 15 extra roster spots to accommodate these extra players. The Dodgers can also claim one player from each of the other 29 teams to add to the roster. Manfred also will grant LA a win in each game they lose in the playoffs. Great job Rob!
George: that might have merited a smile several months ago but, now, it is just sad.
It’s reverted back to the 1950s. In the 2nd half, the Yankees used the As as their 4A team.
Your totally original and extremely imaginative thoughts really struck home with the front office and they await your call to help them do things in a way that pleases you
There will be no government bail outs.
Maybe the Dodgers are adding another affiliate so they can sign all the unchosen ones.
WTF Mo? I’m sure you had that much money to work with. Make a move to fill out the ‘pen instead of using young starters there. That’s how you broke the pipeline. Keep doing what doesn’t work. Garcia would have brought back anything you spent in a deadline trade.
The fact Perry got three decent prospects for him is incredible.
@halosheavenjj. I’ll take zeferjahn over garcia’s 15ip 15 runs anyday, and lugo was the main piece got hurt before his callup.
And Kavadas had a nice AFL season.
This is the rare time the Angels look to have fleeced someone.
@halosheavenjj. I’m not too impressed with kavadas time will tell. You can say anyone of those three was a fleece for garcia so I can’t complain. Kavadas will probably just be depth.
In before the lame deferral “jokes” start…
You’re much too late for that.
The 4th former Padre signed by the Dodgers.
@padsfan. The second angel as well.
Minor League deal deferred over the next 30 years
The “NEW” Brasier project…
THE SYSTEM IS BROKEN!!!
@chris….No, you just had the calico button pressed.
Or CAP LOCK
Garcia came to the Red Sox with a tired arm and performed poorly in August. After sitting for four weeks he came back in late September and had a 2.25 ERA in four outings. This is a solid depth pickup by a savvy organization.
@ramon. I was talking about someone saying it was quantity over quality trade. I’ll take zeferjahn over him anyday over garcia. Plus they got lugo, and kavadas. As far as a minor league signing he’s not a bad pickup, and it seems like he prefers California.
Garcia was awful in Boston last season, maybe returning to socal (if he makes the team) will fix him
He’ll make the team in OKC.