Jaime García

[teej]

It seems like the Twins are always looking for starting pitching at the deadline and in 2017 they got it with the acquisition of Jaime García from the Braves. On July 24th, a week prior to the deadline, García and catcher Anthony Recker were sent to Minnesota in exchange for pitching prospect Huascar Ynoa. García had been an average starter for the Braves, he left Atlanta with an ERA+ of 101, but even his ERA of 4.30 represented an improvement for a Twins' staff that sported a team ERA of 4.84. García was a wily veteran with over eight years of big league experience who was a nice boost for Minnesota as they entered the stretch run. 

García's first start was scheduled for July 28th against Oakland at the Colosseum. When Minnesota acquired García they were just 2.5 games back of Cleveland for the Central lead and in the thick of the AL's second wild card race. Despite the ineffective pitching, there had been reason to buy as the deadline neared. After García's trade though, fortunes quickly reversed. The Twins had been swept by the Dodgers and entered the series opener against the A's six games back of the division lead. They needed to turn things around in the worst way. 

García more then did his part as he held Oakland to three runs across six and two-thirds innings with seven strikeouts. The offense did their part to delay Bob Melvin's 1000th career win as they scored 6 runs in the first 5 innings and held on for a 6-3 final (2). García earned the win in his Twins debut and as expected looked dependable. Unfortunately the Twins continued their slide in brutal fashion as Oakland hit back-to-back walk-offs to win the series. The Twins fell to 50-53 and were seven games back of the division lead. 

The series loss turned the Twins from buyers to sellers and they shipped García off to the Yankees on July 30th. The return was future focused as a pair of pitching prospects in Dietrich Enns and Zack Littell made their way to Minnesota. Ultimately the Twins still made the playoffs but were beaten by those damn Yankees in the Wild Card game. García didn't appear and only found his way into one game of the Yankees' October run, 2.2 innings of relief in game 1 of the ALDS against Cleveland, and his career was on its last legs. He signed with the Blue Jays in free agency but was released with a 5.93 ERA in 25 appearances, although he pitched 5 clean innings over two relief appearances against the Twins. After his release he signed with the Cubs and made eight appearances in September for them but was not selected to the postseason roster and was out of baseball after the season. 

García is barely a footnote in Twins history but he still played a role in their history. He pitched a quality start and every one of those in 2017 were treasured. Littell put together a solid season as a reliever for the Bomba Squad. There's not much to García's legacy here but no one can say it was a negative one. 

Sources Citied
1 "Braves trade LHP Jaime Garcia to Twins for pitching prospect" ESPN July 24th, 2017
2 "Jaime Garcia wins in Minnesota debut after trade from Braves" Associated Press July 29th, 2017
Baseball Reference

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[Hunter-E]

Who was catcher Anthony Recker? Never heard of him.

[nicksaviking]

The timing of this one with the trade deadline fast approaching was well done.

Could use a Sam Dyson one as well!

[teej]

On 7/27/2024 at 6:24 PM, Hunter-E said:

Who was catcher Anthony Recker? Never heard of him.

Journeyman catcher for the A's, Cubs, Mets, and Braves from 2011-2017. He was stuck in AAA for the Twins in 2017 then let go after the season. Played for the D-Backs AAA affiliate in 2018 and has been out of the game since. He's done some TV work on Mets broadcasts the past few years now. 

[lecroy24fan]

On 7/31/2024 at 7:02 PM, teej said:

Journeyman catcher for the A's, Cubs, Mets, and Braves from 2011-2017. He was stuck in AAA for the Twins in 2017 then let go after the season. Played for the D-Backs AAA affiliate in 2018 and has been out of the game since. He's done some TV work on Mets broadcasts the past few years now. 

Add to this he's also been on MLB Network quite frequently this year on their various shows.