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Rico Garcia

Mets, Rico Garcia Agree To Minor League Deal

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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.

Nationals Sign Rico Garcia To Two-Year Minor League Deal

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The Nationals have signed right-hander Rico Garcia to a minor league contract that runs through the 2024 season, The Washington Post’s Jesse Dougherty reports (via X).  Garcia was became a free agent yesterday after being released by Washington, but he’ll now quickly rejoin the Nats.

Biceps tendinitis has kept Garcia from pitching at either the major or minor league level since July 28, and that same injury probably resulted in Garcia’s brief foray in the free agent market.  Injured players can only be placed on release waivers rather than outright waivers, but it seems quite possible that there might have been a handshake deal in place for Garcia to re-sign with D.C. once the transactional red tape was cleared.

The two-year nature of the contract also seems to hint that Garcia might need more time to recover from his injury, though details are scarce on his health status.  Reports from early August indicated that Garcia was starting some rehab work at the Nationals’ spring camp, but Garcia had yet to appear in any rehab games.

The 29-year-old Garcia has appeared in four of the last five MLB seasons, suiting up for five different teams.  The A’s designated Garcia for assignment in July but he rejected the outright assignment to Triple-A in favor of free agency, and he then landed with the Nationals on a minors deal.  Garcia has a 9.26 ERA over 11 2/3 combined innings with Oakland and Washington this season, and a 7.32 ERA over his 35 2/3 career frames of big league work.

Tommy John surgery wiped out all of Garcia’s 2021 season, but he returned as essentially a full-time relief pitcher, and he has posted some good numbers at the Triple-A level over the last two years.  His 2.93 ERA over 27 2/3 Triple-A innings this season was marred by some uncharacteristic control problems, but Garcia posted a 29.51% strikeout rate.

Nationals Release Rico Garcia

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TODAY: Garcia is now a free agent after clearing release waivers, the Nationals announced.

SEPTEMBER 1: The Nationals announced that they have selected the contract of outfielder Travis Blankenhorn, a move that was reported on yesterday. They also recalled right-hander Amos Willingham, with he and Blankenhorn taking the two extra spots on the expanded roster. To make room on the 40-man for Blankenhorn, the club has requested unconditional release waivers on righty Rico Garcia.

Garcia, 29, began the year with the A’s on a minor league deal, getting selected to the major league club in May. He was designated for assignment in July, cleared waivers and elected free agency. He then signed a minor league deal with the Nats and was added to their roster in mid-July. Between the two clubs, he has an earned run average of 9.26 in 11 2/3 major league innings this year. But in 27 2/3 Triple-A innings, he has an ERA of 2.93, striking out 29.5% of hitters though also walking 17.2%. He was placed on the injured list July 30 due to biceps tendinitis.

Andrew Golden of The Washington Post reported in early August that Garcia was headed to Florida to rehab. He hasn’t appeared in a rehab game yet but was perhaps nearing a return in the coming weeks. The Nats could have transferred him to the 60-day IL, but doing so would have effectively ended his season. Injured players can’t be placed on outright waivers, so the Nats have placed him on release waivers instead.

Nationals Select Rico Garcia

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3:55pm: The Nationals have now made it official, announcing Garcia’s selection. In corresponding moves, right-hander Paolo Espino was placed on the 15-day injured list with a flexor strain of his fourth right finger while catcher Israel Pineda was transferred to the 60-day IL. The move for Pineda is simply a formality as he’s already been on the IL all year, much longer than 60 days, meaning he can be reinstated at any point.

8:55am: The Nationals will select the contract of right-hander Rico Garcia from Triple-A Rochester, MLBTR has confirmed. Jesse Dougherty of the Washington Post reported this morning that the move was expected to be made today. They’ll need a 40-man roster move to make that official. It’s possible there will be other additions, as Dougherty suggests the team is in a scramble following yesterday’s blowout loss to the Cubs.

The 29-year-old Garcia joined the Nats on a minor league deal just last week after rejecting an outright from the A’s, who’d designated him for assignment. He was tagged for eight runs in 8 2/3 innings during his brief time with Oakland, but Garcia has pitched well in Triple-A this year and continued that trend with the Nats. He’s tossed 2 1/3 shutout frames in Rochester, punching out three hitters along the way.

That drops Garcia to a 2.93 ERA in 27 2/3 innings this season. Dating back to last year, the righty has a 2.60 ERA with a strikeout rate north of 29% against a 13% walk rate in 62 1/3 Triple-A innings. The latter of those two rates is obviously a concern, but Garcia’s results at the top minor league level have been strong nonetheless.

The Nats will be Garcia’s fifth big league team. In addition to the A’s, he’s spent time with the Orioles, Giants and Rockies but never received a lengthy look at the MLB level. He’s tossed just 32 2/3 innings across parts of four seasons, recording a composite 6.29 ERA in those scattered opportunities.

Washington has ample uncertainty in the bullpen, particularly with Hunter Harvey and Carl Edwards Jr. on the injured list at the moment. The trio of Amos Willingham, Paolo Espino and Jose Ferrer was tagged for 14 run in relief of Patrick Corbin yesterday. Kyle Finnegan and Mason Thompson are the lone established relievers in the Nats’ bullpen at the moment, and the former is a trade candidate, given that he’s into his arbitration years and only has two years of club control remaining beyond the current season.

Nationals, Rico Garcia Agree To Minor League Deal

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The Nationals have agreed to a minor league deal with right-handed reliever Rico Garcia, reports Jessica Kleinschmidt. The Gaeta Sports client is headed to Triple-A Rochester for the time being.

Garcia, 29, rejected an outright assignment from the A’s earlier this week, instead electing to become a free agent. He’d pitched 8 2/3 innings out of the Oakland bullpen prior to being designated for assignment. In that short stint, he was tagged for eight runs on 13 hits and five walks with six punchouts while averaging 95.5 mph on his heater. Overall, Garcia has a 6.29 ERA in parts of four Major League seasons, but that’s come in a minuscule sample of just 32 2/3 innings between the A’s, Orioles, Giants and Rockies.

At the Triple-A level, Garcia has had considerably better results — particularly over the past two seasons. After pitching to a 2.34 ERA in 34 2/3 frames with the Orioles’ top affiliate last year, he’s logged 25 1/3 innings of 3.20 ERA ball with the Athletics’ Triple-A club so far in 2023. Since last year, Garcia has a 2.70 ERA with a 28.7% strikeout rate but a troublesome 13.7% walk rate. That includes an 18.6% rate of issuing free passes this year, but command issues of that magnitude haven’t existed in the past; Garcia has walked only 8.4% of his nearly 2000 opponents in the minor leagues overall.

Nationals relievers currently rank 28th in Major League Baseball with a collective 5.03 ERA, though their top relievers have been far more successful. That’s a group that includes trade candidates such as Kyle Finnegan, Carl Edwards Jr. and Hunter Harvey. Given the already shaky bullpen performance and the possibility of trading some of their steadiest arms as the team’s rebuild progresses, it’s only natural to see president of baseball ops Mike Rizzo stashing some additional depth in the upper minors.

Garcia entered the 2023 season with just under a year of Major League service time and crossed that threshold during his stint with the A’s. If he’s able to crack the Nationals’ roster and pitch well enough to hold down a roster spot, he’d be controllable for another five years.

Rico Garcia Elects Free Agency

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July 11: Garcia has rejected his outright assignment and elected free agency, reports A’s broadcaster Jessica Kleinschmidt (Twitter link).

July 10: The A’s have sent reliever Rico Garcia outright to Triple-A Las Vegas, according to the transaction log at MLB.com. That indicates he went unclaimed on waivers after being designated for assignment on Friday.

Garcia, 29, appeared in seven big league contests with Oakland after they selected his contract in early May. The right-hander has gotten to the highest level in four of the past five seasons. He’s up to 32 2/3 career frames of 6.89 ERA ball. That includes eight runs allowed in 8 2/3 innings with Oakland this year.

While Garcia hasn’t found a ton of MLB success, he’s been effective at the top minor league level. He posted a 2.34 ERA over 34 2/3 Triple-A frames in the Orioles’ system last season. He’s allowing 3.20 earned runs per nine there this year despite pitching in the extremely hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League setting. Garcia has fanned an impressive 29.2% of batters faced for the Aviators, though he’s also handed out free passes at an alarming 18.6% clip.

The Orioles successfully passed Garcia through outright waivers last September. Players with multiple career outrights have the ability to decline the assignment in favor of minor league free agency. The A’s haven’t announced whether Garcia has done so or will stick with Las Vegas as a non-roster player.

Athletics Place Esteury Ruiz On IL With Shoulder Subluxation

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The Athletics announced a series of roster moves today, recalling right-hander Angel Felipe and selecting the contract of outfielder Cody Thomas. In corresponding moves, outfielder Esteury Ruiz was placed on the 10-day injured list with a right shoulder subluxation while right-hander Rico Garcia was designated for assignment.

Ruiz appeared to injure himself while diving back into first base in a game earlier this week. To this point, the A’s haven’t provided any kind of timeline on his expected absence, but the diagnosis is potentially significant. To use a recent example, Brewers outfielder Garrett Mitchell suffered a subluxation in April and required surgery that he likely won’t be able to come back from this year. That’s not to say that the same thing will happen to Ruiz, but it demonstrates the potential seriousness.

Acquired from the Brewers as part of the three-team Sean Murphy trade, Ruiz has had a season that more or less lines up with preseason expectations. One of the fastest players in the league, his baserunning is his standout trait, which has been on display this year. Offensively, he’s hit just one home run and walked at a paltry 3.8% clip, with his .257/.310/.329 batting line amounting to a wRC+ of 85. But he’s been on base enough to try stealing a base 51 times, succeeding in 43 of those, placing him two ahead of Ronald Acuña Jr. for the major league lead.

Despite his excellent speed, advanced defensive metrics are conflicted about his glovework. Defensive Runs Saved has him at -15 for the year, Ultimate Zone Rating at -7.6 but Outs Above Average is far kinder at +1. The A’s are the worst team in baseball right now with a record of 25-64, meaning this injury won’t impact their nonexistent competitive chances, but it’s surely unwelcome for a young player with excellent natural gifts to potentially be missing out on important development time.

Thomas, 28, was selected to Oakland’s 40-man roster going into 2022. He got that roster spot on the heels of a huge .289/.363/.665 showing at Triple-A in 2021. Unfortunately, he missed most of 2022 due to Achilles tendon surgery, only taking 32 big league plate appearances on the year and 39 more in Triple-A.

He was designated for assignment in the offseason and outrighted, sticking with the organization in a non-roster capacity. This year, he’s been mashing in Triple-A again, launching 17 home runs and producing a .308/.367/.576 batting line. That performance will get him back to the show for another crack at hitting against big league pitching. He’s capable of playing all three outfield spots but has spent more time in the corners. JJ Bleday played center yesterday and could perhaps get an extended audition there with Ruiz out.

Garcia, 29, signed a minor league deal with the A’s in the offseason and was selected to the big league roster in May. He has an 8.31 ERA in 8 2/3 major league innings this year but a much more palatable 3.20 ERA in 25 1/3 Triple-A innings. He’s struck out 29.2% of hitters in the minors this year but walked 18.6% of them. The A’s will now have a week to trade him or pass him through waivers. He has a previous career outright and would therefore have the right to elect free agency in the event he clears waivers.

Felipe, 25, will be making his major league debut as soon as he gets into a game. He’s only been with the A’s a short time, having been claimed off waivers from the Padres about two weeks ago. He had a 6.20 ERA in Triple-A when the Padres designated him for assignment but has a much nicer 1.80 ERA since being claimed. He posted huge strikeout numbers in both organizations but his walk rate fell from 14.9% with El Paso to 5.9% with Las Vegas. Control has been an ongoing concern for him so it remains to be seen if that’s a small sample blip or if he’s made some kind of adjustment.

Athletics Select Zach Neal, Place Mason Miller On IL With Forearm Tightness

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4:10pm: The A’s announced Neal’s selection, along with the recall of right-hander Luis Medina. In corresponding moves, righty Rico Garcia was optioned to Triple-A Las Vegas while righty Mason Miller was placed on the 15-day injured list. Catcher Manny Piña was transferred to the 60-day injured list to make room on the 40-man for Neal. Matt Kawahara of the San Francisco Chronicle relays that Miller’s IL placement is due to right forearm tightness. Pina has been on the IL all year due to a lingering wrist issue and was recently pulled off his rehab after suffering a setback. He won’t be eligible to return until 60 days from the initial IL placement, which would be late May.

10:04am: The A’s are set to select the contract of righty Zach Neal prior to tonight’s game, reports Martin Gallegos of MLB.com (Twitter link). He’s expected to make a spot start tonight against Nathan Eovaldi and the Rangers. Neal inked a minor league deal with the Athletics last month.

It’ll be the second stint with Oakland for Neal, who also pitched there in 2016-17, logging a combined 4.89 ERA in 30 appearances (six starts). That accounts for the vast majority of Neal’s big league experience, though he also tossed one inning for the Dodgers in 2018. Overall, he carries a 4.94 ERA, 10.5% strikeout rate and 2% walk rate in 85 2/3 innings at the MLB level.

Now 34 years old, Neal hasn’t pitched in the Majors since that one-off  appearance with the ’18 Dodgers. He spent the 2019-21 seasons with the Seibu Lions of Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball, working to a combined 4.49 ERA with a 12.4% strikeout rate against a 5.6% walk rate. Neal logged a 2.87 ERA in 100 1/3 innings in his first year with the Lions but was north of 5.00 in his second and third seasons in Japan.

Neal spent the 2022 season with the Rockies’ Triple-A affiliate but was tagged for a 6.87 ERA in that hitter-friendly setting. He’s opened the 2023 campaign with similarly shaky results in another hitter-friendly setting, Las Vegas, allowing seven runs on eight hits and five walks with 11 punchouts in 11 1/3 innings (5.56 ERA).

The A’s have a full 40-man roster, so they’ll need to make a corresponding transaction to get Neal onto the roster. They’ve already turned over nearly their entire bullpen since the season began and could make yet another move there to accommodate Neal’s addition. Righty Zach Jackson and lefty Sam Moll are the only two members of Oakland’s Opening Day relief corps who are still currently in the bullpen.

A’s Designate Jeurys Familia, Domingo Acevedo For Assignment

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The Athletics are shaking up their bullpen, designating right-handers Jeurys Familia and Domingo Acevedo for assignment, per a team announcement. Righty Adam Oller was also optioned to Triple-A Las Vegas. In a set of corresponding moves, righties Spencer Patton, Austin Pruitt and Rico Garcia have all had their contracts selected from Triple-A.

Familia, 33, returned to the A’s for a second stint late in spring training, after the D-backs cut him loose late in spring training. The former Mets closer had enjoyed a strong showing in camp with Arizona and landed a big league deal with Oakland, but things haven’t gone well in his return to the Coliseum. Through 12 2/3 innings, Familia has been tagged for a 6.39 ERA, due in no small part to a sky-high 20.3% walk rate.

It’s been a tough two years for Familia, who was sharp with the Mets from 2020-21 but was roughed up for a 6.09 ERA in 44 1/3 frames between the Phillies and Red Sox in 2022. Familia’s fastball, which once averaged better than 97 mph, sat at what was then a career-low 95.6 mph between those two teams last year. This season, he’s averaged 94.8 mph on the pitch.

As for the 29-year-old Acevedo, his bottom-line run prevention numbers are even more jarring. In 9 1/3 innings out of the bullpen, he’s been clobbered for 11 runs on 16 hits (two homers), a pair of walks and a hit batter with seven punchouts. The resulting 10.61 ERA is more than triple the strong 3.33 mark he posted in 67 2/3 innings for the A’s during the 2022 season.

Acevedo’s velocity hasn’t changed — his 93.2 mph average heater is an exact match with his 2022 velocity — nor has he made any radical alterations to his pitch selection/usage. However, he’s seen his swinging-strike rate plummet from 15.6% to 8.8%, while his opponents’ chase rate has fallen from 35.6% to 29%. While he’s undoubtedly had some poor fortune in terms of batted balls (.400 BABIP), Acevedo also just isn’t missing many bats and is getting chases off the plate at a below-average rate after excelling in both those areas a year ago.

Pruitt returns to the A’s for a second season after spending the bulk of the 2022 campaign in their bullpen and pitching to a 4.23 ERA in 55 1/3 innings. The A’s removed him from the 40-man roster but re-signed him to a minor league deal this past offseason, and he’s begun the year with a 2.30 ERA, 25.8% strikeout rate and 8.1% walk rate in 15 2/3 innings of Triple-A ball. Pruitt has only fanned 17.4% of his Major League opponents, so he’s not likely to keep missing bats at this level, but he also boasts a very strong 5.3% walk rate in his MLB career.

The 35-year-old Patton has had the most MLB experience in recent seasons. Patton, who starred for NPB’s Yokohama DeNA BayStars for several years before returning to MLB with the Rangers in 2021, pitched to a 3.83 ERA in 49 1/3 innings with Texas in 2021-22. He had a very strong ’21 season, fanning 27.9% of his opponents against an 8.7% walk rate, but Patton’s velocity dipped by more than a mile per hour in 2022 as his walk and strikeout rates spiked in the wrong directions. Through 8 1/3 innings with Las Vegas this season, he’s allowed four runs on 11 hits and four walks with 10 strikeouts.

Garcia, 29, has appeared in three big league seasons, splitting a total of 24 innings between the Rockies, Giants and Orioles. He has a grisly 6.38 ERA in that time and has issued more walks than strikeouts. However, he’s sitting on a 2.03 ERA in 13 1/3 innings so far in Las Vegas, with a hefty 32.8% strikeout rate and 18% swinging-strike rate against a more troublesome 15.5% walk rate.

A’s Sign Rico Garcia To Minor League Deal

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Oakland have agreed to terms on a minor league deal with pitcher Rico Garcia, according to A’s broadcaster Jessica Kleinschmidt. The deal comes with an invite to spring training.

Garcia, 28, appeared in six games for the Orioles in 2022, throwing eight innings of 4.50 ERA ball, giving up a pair of home runs and striking out just two batters. In 34 2/3 innings at Triple-A, Garcia had a 2.34 ERA with a 28.4% strikeout rate and 9.9% walk rate. He throws a 95mph fastball and adds in a changeup and cutter to his arsenal.

Garcia was drafted in the 30th round of the 2016 draft by the Rockies. He made his way up through Colorado’s system, debuting with a handful of innings in 2019. He was plucked off waivers by the Giants that winter and pitched ten innings of 5.40 ERA ball for them in 2020. Tommy John surgery in the spring of 2021 put an end to that campaign and he latched on with the Orioles for 2022 before being granted free agency shortly after the season.

All told, Garcia owns a lifetime 6.38 ERA across 24 innings in the big leagues. Given his solid numbers in the minors, he’ll join the A’s and provide them with some pitching depth heading into the 2023 campaign.

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