Twins Claim Edgar Garcia off Waivers

[David Youngs]

Amidst a flurry of trade rumors, the Twins claimed RHP Edgar Garcia off of waivers from the Cincinnati Reds on the Friday afternoon of the trade deadline.

García, who has had major league appearances with the Phillies, Rays, and Reds in the past three seasons, will report to Triple-A Saint Paul. García pitched in five games for the Reds earlier this season, going 0-1 with a 16.62 ERA. Originally signed as a free agent by the Phillies in 2014, García has an MLB career record of 2-1 with a 7.14 ERA (46.2 IP, 37 ER) in 46 major league appearances. 

Primarily a reliever, García found success at Triple-A Louisville before his rocky 2021 campaign in Cincinnati. The Dominican native boasted a 3.38 ERA with 17 holds and 29 strikeouts in 24 games for the Louisville Bats before being called up on July 19. 

García also saw success in 2019 with the Phillies' Triple-A affiliate Lehigh Valley, posting a 2.48 ERA in 25 appearances. After being called up midway through the 2019 season, he posted admirable numbers for the ‘Phils, going 2-0 with a 5.77 ERA in 37 appearances. 

While his time in the majors has been brief, García primarily relies on four pitches; four-seam fastball, sinker, slider, and changeup. 53% of his pitches thrown in 2021 have been sinkers, averaging at 94.2 MPH. The other majority of his 2021 pitches have come courtesy of his slider averaging 86.6 MPH.

It’s tough to judge García on his limited MLB experience, but there’s no doubt that the 24-year-old has shown moments of brilliance in the minors. He’s had five minor league seasons with an ERA under four, and his experience as a set-up man could indeed be valuable for an organization that is seeing quite a bit of movement on all levels of their pitching department. After a roller coasted 2021 season, García will have a chance to get back to the success he saw at Triple-A with the Saints.

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[glunn]

I see no bad that can come from this.  ?

[Mike Sixel]

Claiming a guy with stuff with options? Great idea. 

[ashbury]

8 minutes ago, glunn said:

I see no bad that can come from this.  ?

C'mon, glunn. This is the Twins. There is always bad that can come from anything.

 

[AlwaysinModeration]

45 minutes ago, Mike Sixel said:

Claiming a guy with stuff with options? Great idea. 

De Leon was the (former) Reds pitcher who fits this description I wanted them to scoop up.  Now that they have some roster space…hope they do so.

[Alex Schieferdecker]

Four pitches seems like too many for a reliever. Not that other teams haven't already tried this, but I imagine the Twins will tell him to focus on only a couple of those.

[mikelink45]

I can only say - okay.  As long as he is in the minors I do not mind and hopefully he will progress to the majors. 

[Whitey333]

Typical Twins player aquisition.   Another player other organizations released or put on waivers.  Believe me I hope he works out.  But it's not likely.

[twinfan]

Though you never know how he will do, which player does he take the place of on the 40 man roster? That is the real question. His signing is as much of a crapshoot as drafting a player in the 10th round or trading for a player currently playing A ball.

[Mike Sixel]

9 minutes ago, Whitey333 said:

Typical Twins player aquisition.   Another player other organizations released or put on waivers.  Believe me I hope he works out.  But it's not likely.

He's in the minors....what is the downside? 

[Whitey333]

Problem is he will probably stay in the minors and take up a spot from someone else at least potentially.  I'm just saying this is the type of move the Twins take.  Too cheap to sign a quality pitcher, and always looking for bargain basement deals.  It doesn't work out too well does it?

[Mike Sixel]

1 minute ago, Whitey333 said:

Problem is he will probably stay in the minors and take up a spot from someone else at least potentially.  I'm just saying this is the type of move the Twins take.  Too cheap to sign a quality pitcher, and always looking for bargain basement deals.  It doesn't work out too well does it?

What pitcher could they sign right now? I mean, this guy is there now. They will give him a shot this year. He may or may not take a spot next year......but right now? There is no harm right now. Of course it doesn't work often, few great players are sitting around......but it only has to work once (see, Badoo, Akil, Detroit Tigers, for an example).

[LastOnePicked]

16.62 ERA? He's gonna fit right in here.

Here's hoping he can figure things out, and that our AAA staff can help.

[chpettit19]

1 hour ago, Whitey333 said:

Typical Twins player aquisition.   Another player other organizations released or put on waivers.  Believe me I hope he works out.  But it's not likely.

Typical MLB Organization acquisition. Literally every team in the league does this. This happens basically every day in baseball. Remember Travis Blankenhorn? He's been waived and picked up roughly 139385 times this season by basically every team in the league.

All sarcasm aside, this is a move every team makes all the time. It's not some "cheap Twins" move. It's just the business of baseball that usually isn't noticed.

[Danchat]

1 hour ago, twinfan said:

Though you never know how he will do, which player does he take the place of on the 40 man roster? That is the real question. His signing is as much of a crapshoot as drafting a player in the 10th round or trading for a player currently playing A ball.

We opened 3 spots today and filled 2 with Gant and Garcia, so you could say he's taking Robles' spot. There is plenty of room on the 40 man, and it would take little effort to make room (DFA guys like Burrows/Colome/etc).

[Cap'n Piranha]

1 hour ago, twinfan said:

Though you never know how he will do, which player does he take the place of on the 40 man roster? That is the real question. His signing is as much of a crapshoot as drafting a player in the 10th round or trading for a player currently playing A ball.

Burrows, Colome, Coulombe, Farrell, and Minaya all seem like guys that could be released pretty easily.

Also, as Garcia is currently having success at AAA, and has pitched part of 3 seasons in MLB, all before the age of 25, he is massively more likely to succeed than a player in A ball, or any of Brandon Lopez/Sean Miller/Randy Leblanc/CK Irby (the Twins 10th round picks from 2013-2016)

[Cap'n Piranha]

1 hour ago, Mike Sixel said:

What pitcher could they sign right now? I mean, this guy is there now. They will give him a shot this year. He may or may not take a spot next year......but right now? There is no harm right now. Of course it doesn't work often, few great players are sitting around......but it only has to work once (see, Badoo, Akil, Detroit Tigers, for an example).

Or Santana, Johan.

[Cap'n Piranha]

48 minutes ago, chpettit19 said:

Typical MLB Organization acquisition. Literally every team in the league does this. This happens basically every day in baseball. Remember Travis Blankenhorn? He's been waived and picked up roughly 139385 times this season by basically every team in the league.

All sarcasm aside, this is a move every team makes all the time. It's not some "cheap Twins" move. It's just the business of baseball that usually isn't noticed.

One of the teams claiming Blankenhorn was, IIRC, the World Series favorite LA Dodgers.

[70charger]

3 hours ago, Cap'n Piranha said:

One of the teams claiming Blankenhorn was, IIRC, the World Series favorite LA Dodgers.

Such a cheap Dodgers move....