Long-Time Phillies Pitcher Joins AL Franchise After Mets Cut

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Instead, the bullpen shuffle will continue for the foreseeable future. And in the meantime, the Phillies got an update on one long-time reliever who was recently cut by their division rival.

Luis Garcia, who pitched for the Phillies from 2013 to 2018, racking up 223 strikeouts across 251 games in the process, joined the Minnesota Twins on a minor league contract this week, according to Bobby Nightengale of the Minnesota Star Tribune.

The news came shortly after the New York Mets released him.

“Garcia, 39, opened the season with the same Mets team against whom the Twins will open a road series tonight,” MLB Trade Rumors’ Steve Adams reported on Tuesday. “He signed a one-year, $1.75MM contract in the offseason but was cut loose after only six appearances. In that time, Garcia was knocked around for six runs (five earned) on 11 hits and a pair of walks with four strikeouts.”

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Garcia appeared to have something left in the tank last year, as he posted a 3.42 ERA in 58 total games for the Los Angeles Dodgers, Washington Nationals and Los Angeles Angels. But his short Mets stint suggested he had lost some velocity on several pitches in his repertoire.

The Twins could use some relief corp reinforcement and a minor-league deal for a veteran like Garcia appears to be a relatively risk free way to take a shot at some remaining upside.

“Garcia’s velocity is down this year, but there’s little harm in taking a nearly free look at a veteran reliever who, in addition to that 3.86 ERA over the past five seasons, has punched out a solid 22.3% of his opponents against a sharp 7.8% walk rate and a huge 53% ground-ball rate,” Adams added.

This article was originally published on Forbes.com