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Luis Garcia

Rangers’ Luis Garcia Becomes Free Agent

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The Rangers have granted right-hander Luis Garcia free agency, per a team announcement. The club previously designated Garcia for assignment on Tuesday, but the reliever subsequently cleared waivers.

Garcia will head back to the open market eight months after signing a minor league contract with the Rangers in January. The 33-year-old wound up throwing 8 1/3 innings with Texas this season and surrendering nine runs (seven earned) on 10 hits and nine walks, though he did strike out 11 hitters along the way.

This will count as the third straight subpar season for Garcia, who has also spent time with the Phillies and Angels, but he has mostly posted respectable numbers in the majors. Since he debuted with Philadelphia in 2013, Garcia has logged a 4.26 ERA/4.32 FIP with 8.31 K/9, 4.77 BB/9 and a 55.1 percent groundball rate. Garcia has also averaged 96.2 mph on his fastball during his time in the bigs.

Rangers Designate Luis Garcia

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The Rangers announced that they’ve designated right-hander Luis Garcia for assignment. They also activated outfielder Willie Calhoun, recalled righty Demarcus Evans and optioned outfielder Scott Heineman.

The 33-year-old Garcia was a winter minor league pickup for the Rangers, with whom he threw 8 1/3 innings this season but had little luck keeping runs off the board. Opposing offenses battered Garcia for nine runs (seven earned) on seven hits and nine walks. The former Phillie and Angel now owns a 4.26 ERA/4.32 FIP with 8.55 K/9, 4.77 BB/9 and a 55.1 percent groundball rate in 315 major league innings.

Calhoun’s now back after missing just under a month with a left hamstring strain. At 17-30 and in possession of the AL’s second-worst record, playoff hopes are dead for the Rangers, but perhaps Calhoun will be able to end the season on a positive note. The former top 100 prospect seemed to turn the corner at the plate in 2019, but he could only manage a .172/.206/.224 line with no home runs in 63 plate appearances this season before his IL stint.

Rangers Select Luis Garcia, Place Juan Nicasio On Restricted List

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The Rangers have selected right-hander Luis Garcia’s contract from their alternate training site, per a team announcement. To make room for Garcia, the Rangers placed righty Juan Nicasio on the restricted list.

The 33-year-old Garcia may now get a chance to pitch in the majors for an eighth straight season. He divided 2013-19 between the Phillies and Angels, with whom he combined for a 4.17 ERA/4.29 FIP with 8.22 K/9, 4.64 BB/9 and a 55.4 percent groundball rate. At his best, the hard-throwing Garcia gave the Phillies 71 1/3 innings of 2.35 ERA/3.12 FIP ball in 2017, but he struggled mightily over the previous two seasons. As a result, Garcia had to settle for the Rangers’ minor league offer over the winter.

Nicasio, also 33 and another veteran reliever whom the Rangers inked to a minors pact, is down for “personal reasons.” He made his first two Rangers appearances Sunday and Monday, but those outings were disastrous. Nicasio combined to give up six earned runs on five hits and two walks in 1 1/3 innings in a pair of Texas losses.

Nationals To Promote Luis Garcia

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The Nationals will promote infield prospect Luis Garcia, per Mark Zuckerman of MASNsports.com (via Twitter). He’s expected to join the team for its game this evening.

Garcia, who just turned 20 in May, will step right into the starting lineup. He had been on the club’s taxi squad but an immediate opening arose when Starling Castro suffered a wrist injury earlier today. Castro’s outlook remains to be seen.

The Nats have not hesitated to call upon their best young talent, with generally excellent results. Garcia will now have an opportunity to take a place in a still-developing new core of position players on the D.C. roster.

Though he’s still quite young, Garcia did play a full season at the Double-A level last year. He ran into some challenges there, ultimately slashing just .257/.280/.337 over 553 plate appearances, but was markedly better in the second half.

Talent evaluators see Garcia as a potential everyday player. For now, he’ll line up at second base alongside regular shortstop Trea Turner. It remains to be seen how lengthy an opportunity Garcia will receive. No doubt that’ll depend both upon the health status of Castro and Garcia’s ability to adapt to MLB pitching.

Health Notes: Nationals, deGrom, Tanaka, Quintana, Pads

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Outfielder Juan Soto, infielder Howie Kendrick and infield prospect Luis Garcia all returned to the Nationals on Thursday after quarantining for two weeks, Mark Zuckerman of MASNSports.com was among those to report. It’s up in the air whether the Nationals will be able to pencil Soto or Kendrick into their lineup when their season opens next Thursday, but it’s encouraging to see those two and Garcia cleared. Meanwhile, there hasn’t been any change in center fielder Victor Robles’ status, manager Dave Martinez said (via Zuckerman, on Twitter). Robles has been in isolation during Summer Camp.

  • After an MRI on Mets ace Jacob deGrom’s back returned good results Thursday, he had a throwing session and told Anthony DiComo of MLB.com and other reporters that he plans to start Opening Day. However, the Mets aren’t ready to say whether that will happen. Manager Luis Rojas stated the club’s taking “a day-to-day approach” with the back-to-back NL Cy Young winner, who probably won’t be able to go as long as expected if he does take the mound for their opener. He’d originally been slated for around 100 pitches, but 85 seems to be a more realistic ceiling now. In the meantime, deGrom will throw 65 pitches in an exhibition game against the Yankees on Sunday.
  • Yankees righty Masahiro Tanaka returned to the mound Thursday for the first time since suffering a concussion on July 5. Tanaka threw a 30-pitch bullpen session that was “higher intensity” than the team expected and “very crisp,” pitching coach Matt Blake told reporters (including Kristie Ackert of the New York Daily News). Tanaka will throw another bullpen session Sunday. The Yankees haven’t ruled out Tanaka from being part of the first turn through their rotation, but it seems likely he’ll miss at least one start, per Ackert. In the meantime, considering the team has an off-day in the first week of the season, it could start with a four-man rotation of Gerrit Cole, James Paxton, J.A. Happ, Jordan Montgomery and then plug in Tanaka.
  • Cubs southpaw Jose Quintana, two weeks removed from left thumb surgery, played catch from 60 feet Thursday, Bruce Levine of 670 The Score relays. Quintana “felt fine,” according to manager David Ross. Still, Levine writes that Quintana will start the season on the injured list, which will be the first IL stint of his career. The Cubs aren’t putting a timetable on exactly how long they’ll go without Quintana, with Ross saying, “Today was a nice positive, but one thing I know from my time in baseball — a lot of twists and turns, so it’s wait and see for me.”
  • Padres righty Trey Wingenter is seeking a second opinion on his ailing pitching elbow, manager Jayce Tingler said Thursday (via AJ Cassavell of MLB.com). The team previously shut down Wingenter last week because of inflammation. The 26-year-old was among the Padres’ most-utilized relievers last season, throwing 51 innings. Wingenter only managed a 5.65 ERA, and he walked 4.94 batters per nine, but he also put up a 12.71 K/9, posted a 3.61 FIP and averaged 96 mph on his fastball.

Rangers Sign Luis Garcia, James Jones To Minors Contracts

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The Rangers announced a series of pitching-related moves today, including the signings of right-hander Luis Garcia and southpaw James Jones to minor league contracts.  Garcia and Jones will be invited to the club’s Major League Spring Training camp.  In addition, recently-designated righty Jimmy Herget has been outrighted to Triple-A Nashville after clearing waivers, and right-hander Reed Garrett has been released so he can pursue a deal with Japan’s Seibu Lions.

Garcia, the most experienced member of the quartet, tossed 62 innings out of the Angels bullpen last season before opting for free agency rather than accept an outright assignment to Triple-A in October.  Garcia posted a 4.35 ERA, 8.3 K/9, and 1.73 K/BB rate, while taking a lot of damage from the home run ball, allowing 13 homers over his 62 frames of work.  Garcia also posted a career-low 47.2% grounder rate; still a respectable total, though a step down for a pitcher who never dropped below the 54.7% mark with the Phillies from 2013-17.  Garcia also posted a 48.4% grounder rate in 2018, so his days as a truly elite grounder specialist could be over.

Overall, Garcia has a 4.17 ERA, 8.2 K/9, and 1.77 K/BB rate over 306 2/3 innings over the last seven seasons.  He has held right-handed batters to a .238/.329/.370 slash line in that time, so he offers a bit of specialist value and durability to the Rangers should he win a job in their bullpen.

Jones will return for his fifth season in the Rangers organization as he continues the transition from outfielder to pitcher (yes, this is the same James Jones who saw action in center field for the Mariners in 2014-15).  This work was interrupted by a Tommy John surgery that cost him the entire 2017 season, though more recent results have shown promise.  Jones had a 2.67 ERA, 10.0 K/9, and 2.37 K/BB rate over 64 innings in 2019, split between Double-A (56 1/3 IP) and Triple-A (7 2/3 IP).  Jones seems likely to continue at Triple-A this year, as continues to slowly but surely take an unlikely path back to the majors.

Herget was designated when Texas acquired Adolis Garcia from the Cardinals almost three weeks ago, though Herget’s extended stay in DFA limbo was due to league offices being closed over the holiday season.  A sixth-round pick for the Reds in the 2015 draft, Herget made his Major League debut in the form of 6 1/3 relief innings for Cincinnati last season, before the Rangers claimed him off waivers in early December.

Garrett also got his first taste of MLB action in 2019, with an 8.22 ERA over 15 1/3 innings with the Tigers.  Garrett had some strong numbers in the minors in 2018, which prompted Detroit to select him in the Rule 5 Draft.  The righty’s lack of immediate success, however, prompted the Tigers to send Garrett back to the Rangers last May.  Garrett will now become the latest in an increasingly large number of players with MLB or high-minors experience (or, the proverbial “Quadruple-A” types) to head to Japan or South Korea in search of a larger salary or a more prominent role.

Angels Outright Five Players

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The Angels announced today that they’ve outrighted five players from their 40-man roster, all of whom elected free agency rather than accepting an assignment to Triple-A. First baseman Justin Bour, righties Nick Tropeano and Luis Garcia, southpaw Miguel Del Pozo, and two-way player Kaleb Cowart are all now on the open market.

It isn’t terribly surprising to see this handful of players sent packing in advance of an offseason that could be laden with change. The three most experienced names bounced from the roster were all eligible for arbitration. MLBTR projected Bour to earn $2.9MM, Garcia to take home $2.3MM, and Tropeano to cost $1.1MM.

That trio fell shy of expectations in 2019, making the salaries untenable. Signed for lefty power, Bour hit just .172/.259/.364 in a Halos uniform. Garcia managed a 4.35 ERA in 62 innings, but carried a suboptimal combination of 8.3 K/9, 4.8 BB/9, and 1.9 HR/9. And Tropeano struggled both in brief MLB action and at Triple-A.

Del Pozo was acquired in August for a trial run, but surrendered 11 earned runs in his first 9 1/3 frames of MLB action. The 27-year-old had shown enhanced strikeout numbers this year at Triple-A, so could be an interesting target. It’s unclear what’s next for Cowart, who attempted to add pitching to his already versatile set of defensive positions. He walked nearly as many batters as he struck out in 17 appearances in the upper minors, working to a cumulative 10.19 ERA.

Angels Remove Cody Allen From Closer’s Role

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The Angels are removing right-hander Cody Allen from the closer’s role for the time being, manager Brad Ausmus revealed prior to Wednesday’s tilt with the Yankees (Twitter link via MLB.com’s Rhett Bollinger). There won’t be a set closer in his place, it seems, as each of Ty Buttrey, Hansel Robles and Luis Garcia could receive looks depending on availability and matchup, Bollinger notes.

Signed to a one-year deal worth $8.25MM this offseason, Allen hoped to bounce back in his new environs following the worst full season of his MLB career in 2018. Allen gave the Indians five straight seasons of sub-3.00 ERA ball with at least 11.3 K/9 from 2013-17 before stumbling in his final season of arbitration; last year, the righty posted a 4.70 ERA with 10.7 K/9, 4.4 BB/9 and a career-high 1.5 HR/9.

The start of the 2019 season hasn’t gone any better. Allen is a nominal 4-for-4 in save opportunities, but he’s yielded five earned runs on six hits and seven walks with nine strikeouts in 8 1/3 innings. The home-run troubles that plagued him last year are all the more pronounced in 2019, as he’s already served up a trio of dingers on the young season. Perhaps more concerning is the fact that Allen’s 92.2 mph average fastball is a full two miles per hour lower than it was in 2017 and three miles slower than it was back in 2014. As one might expect with that type of velocity dip, Allen’s swinging-strike rate has plummeted from 14.9 percent in 2017 to 10.4 percent in 2019.

It remains to be seen whether the change in role can help to get Allen back on track. At 30 years old, it’s not out of the question that he can rediscover some of his lost velocity. It’s also certainly possible that a pitcher with his track record and wipeout curveball can learn to be effective even with reduced life on his heater, though doing so may come with an adjustment period.

Fantasy players asking who’s in line for the bulk of saves won’t have a true answer until we see how Ausmus deploys the other late-inning relievers in his bullpen. But to this point in the season, both Buttrey and Robles have been terrific. Each has struck out at least one third of the hitters he’s faced while walking fewer than eight percent of opponents. Buttrey has paired his outstanding K-BB% with a hefty 56.5 percent ground-ball rate (dwarfing Robles’ 25.0 percent), underscoring the difficulty that opponents have when it comes to elevating his pitches.

Since being acquired from the Red Sox in exchange for Ian Kinsler, Buttrey has a 2.10 ERA and a 33-to-8 K/BB ratio and zero home runs allowed in 25 1/3 innings for the Angels. Robles, since being claimed off waivers from the Mets, has a 3.02 ERA and a 52-to-18 K/BB ratio in 47 2/3 frames. Between the two, Buttrey has induced more swinging strikes and grounders and seems like the more prototypical closer, though it’s possible that Ausmus will err on the side of veteran experience and give the first looks to Robles.

Players Avoiding Arbitration: American League

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The deadline for players and teams to exchange arbitration figures passed at 1pm ET yesterday, meaning over the next few hours, there will be a landslide of settlements on one-year deals to avoid an arbitration hearing. We’ll track today’s minor settlements from the American League in this post. Once all of the day’s settlements have filtered in, I’ll organize them by division to make them a bit easier to parse.

It’s worth mentioning that the vast majority of teams have adopted a “file and trial” approach to arbitration, meaning that once arbitration figures are exchanged with a player, negotiations on a one-year deal will cease. The two parties may still discuss a multi-year deal after that point, but the majority of players who exchange figures with their team today will head to an arbitration hearing.

As always, all salary projections referenced within this post are courtesy of MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz, and we’ll also be updating our 2019 Arbitration Tracker throughout the day…

Today’s Updates

  • Yankees 1B Greg Bird will make $1.2 MM next season, per Bob Nightengale on Twitter.
  • The controversial Roberto Osuna will make $6.5MM next season, per Feinsand. Teammate Jake Marisnick, who again scuffled in ’18 after a promising 2017, will make $2.2125MM.
  • Per Mark Feinsand on Twitter, A’s lefty Sean Manaea $3.15MM in what’s sure to be an injury-marred 2019.
  • Hard-throwing reliever Mychal Givens will make $2.15MM, per Eduardo A. Encina of the Tampa Bay Times (via Twitter), with additional incentives for making the All-Star team or placing in the Top-3 for the Rivera/Hoffman Reliever of the Year Awards, added MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand (via Twitter).
  • The Mariners agreed on a $1.95MM deal with outfielder Domingo Santana, per MLB.com’s Greg Johns (via Twitter). Santana is the second and last of the Mariners’ arbitration-eligible players.
  • The Angels agreed to contracts with a pair of players yesterday, per Maria Torres of the LA Times (via Twitter). Reliever Hansel Robles signed for $1.4MM. Robles threw 36 1/3 innings of 2.97 ERA baseball after the Angels claimed him off waivers from the Mets in June. Luis Garcia, acquired via trade from the Phillies this winter, signed for $1.675MM.
  • The Tigers and reliever Shane Greene settled on $4MM, per USA Today’s Bob Nightengale (via Twitter).
  • The Yankees reached an agreement with Sonny Gray for $7.5MM, per Nightengale. Gray, of course, has been involved trade rumors most of the winter, but for the time being, he stands to play a role in the Yankee pen while providing insurance for the rotation.
  • Didi Gregorius has also come to an agreement with the Yankees on a one-year, $11.75MM deal in his final season before free agency, per USA Today’s Bob Nightengale (Twitter links).
  • New Yankee James Paxton signed for $8.575, per Nightengale (via Twitter). Paxton is under contract for the 2020 season as well.
  • The Houston Astros came to an agreement with Collin McHugh for $5.8MM, per Nightengale (via Twitter). McHugh could be moving back into the rotation after a stellar season in the pen, either way this will be his final season of arb eligibility before hitting the open market.
  • Jonathan Villar comes away with $4.825MM for what will be his first full season in Baltimore, per Nightengale (via Twitter).

Earlier Updates

Read more

AL West Notes: Astros, Athletics, Garcia Trade, Rangers’ Payroll

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The addition of Robinson Chirinos on a one-year, $5.75MM contract won’t stop the Astros from pursuing additional help behind the plate, writes Brian McTaggart of MLB.com, but president of baseball ops Jeff Luhnow did suggest that the team is comfortable moving forward with Chirinos and Max Stassi in the event that a further opportunity doesn’t come along at a palatable price. “We certainly feel good about going into the season with Stassi and Chirinos as our catchers,” said Luhnow. “We’ve got [Garrett] Stubbs in the Minor Leagues and other players as well. It doesn’t mean we won’t take advantage of the opportunity if one presents itself as a way to get better, but right now we feel comfortable with the group we have.” Houston stands out as a logical fit for Marlins star J.T. Realmuto or the Pirates’ Francisco Cervelli on the trade market, while the reps for free agents Yasmani Grandal and Wilson Ramos have presumably reached out to the ’Stros as well. The Astros have often carried three catching options in the past, so it shouldn’t be ruled out that they’d do so in 2019.

Here’s more from the division…

  • Athletics general manager David Forst told reporters Friday that the team planned to explore both trades and free agency in its search for rotation upgrades (Twitter links via Jane Lee of MLB.com). There’s no preference between the two, it seems, as Forst indicated that the A’s are “dipping into” both markets “equally.” Regarding the club’s second base situation, while there’s been talk of a new contract for Jed Lowrie since this summer, Forst suggests that there’s no clear direction on how they’ll address the position just yet. Oakland is still having internal discussions about adding a second baseman, giving the job to prospect Franklin Barreto or finding a platoon partner for the 22-year-old Barreto, per Forst. Barreto, who hit .259/.357/.514 with 18 homers in 333 plate appearances with Triple-A Nashville in 2018, is considered to be among Oakland’s best prospects. He’s managed just a .252 OBP in the Majors to this point in his career, but that’s come at a young age and in a tiny sample of 151 PAs.
  • Many Angels fans were displeased to see the Angels swap out lefty Jose Alvarez for right-hander Luis Garcia in a one-for-one trade last night, given Garcia’s 6.07 ERA with the Phillies in 2018. As GM Billy Eppler explains to Jeff Fletcher of the Orange Country Register, though, the Angels (obviously) paid little heed to Garcia’s ERA and instead bet on the right-hander’s velocity, ground-ball tendencies and other characteristics they found appealing. “He has the characteristics we gravitate to: strikeouts, ground balls and big stuff,” says Eppler of his new right-hander. “… He provides us another power look out of the bullpen to complement Ty Buttrey, Hansel Robles, Justin Anderson and Keynan Middleton (after he comes back from Tommy John surgery) sometime in the middle of 2019. You have a fairly high-octane bullpen that can miss a bunch of bats.”
  • The Rangers’ payroll will likely wind up in the $120MM range for the coming season, writes Jeff Wilson of the Fort-Worth Star Telegram. Texas currently projects at a payroll of just under $106MM, which should give them a bit of room to spend should they find some deals to their liking. However, Wilson quotes GM Jon Daniels as saying: “This is not the year where we are going to go all out. We are probably a year away from starting to look at some different options for expanding the payroll.” Daniels plainly states that the Rangers weren’t in on either Patrick Corbin or Nathan Eovaldi in free agency. Wilson suggests that Texas will still look at adding some pitchers — but likely more along the contractual lines of Mike Minor’s three-year, $28MM contract from last offseason than any kind of top-of-the-market addition.
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