Deivi Garcia was a starter the last time he pitched in the majors in 2021. His next big league outing will come as a reliever.
The Yankees recalled the former consensus top-100 prospect on Wednesday morning, adding a fresh arm to their bullpen after demoting Greg Weissert following a rough Tuesday night. Garcia, part of a 40-man roster that didn’t offer many other options, had a 4.50 ERA, 8.1 K/9 and a career-worst 7.2 BB/9 over 10 games and 20 innings at Triple-A, where he’s transitioned into a multi-inning reliever following a few difficult seasons as a minor league starter.
“We’ve seen, over the last couple of years, his stuff fluctuate to where it was really down, to back up,” Aaron Boone said of the 23-year-old righty. “For the most part, really since the start of spring, his stuff has been good. Hopefully, this role kind of lends itself to that.”
Garcia threw the ball well in relief during spring training, recording a 1.93 ERA and 10 strikeouts over 9.1 innings. He walked five — command has always been an issue for the pitcher — but Garcia’s camp was his first taste of success since his meteoric rise through the Yankees’ system a few years back.
Garcia made his major league debut for the Yankees when he was just 21. He posted a 4.98 ERA over six starts that flashed his potential during the pandemic-shortened 2020 season, and he also made a postseason appearance.
But Garcia’s career took a turn after that. He mostly pitched at Triple-A in 2021, where he registered a 6.85 ERA over 90.2 innings. Still, he found his way back to the majors, only to allow six earned runs over 8.1 innings. Last season was more of the same, as the Yankees shut him down for two months due to a finger injury and a needed reset. Garcia pitched in six games at Double-A and 14 at Triple-A. He ended 2022 with a 6.89 ERA and zero MLB outings.
Boone attributed some of Garcia’s struggles to his delivery, a focal point for the pitcher for the last few years.
“He’s got an interesting delivery that has probably gotten him in a little bit of trouble in his career, with just maintaining it and being able to repeat that delivery and remain consistent,” the manager said. “Probably hurt him a little bit as a starter. He’s had some injuries along the way. Those things, for young people, are things to work through, and he kind of rifled through the system.”
Of Garcia’s 20 appearances last season, only 13 were starts. Boone said the Yankees’ player development personnel determined a bullpen role would be best for Garcia moving forward.
With another shot at the majors, Garcia is looking to prove them right.
“I think he’s taken to it well,” Boone said of Garcia’s new job. “I think he likes it. And again, it’s probably the best avenue for him to be successful. There’s a chance he can thrive in this role, and that’s what we’re hoping to see.”
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Boone said that Aaron Hicks felt “pretty good” Wednesday morning and could even be an option off the bench against the A’s. The outfielder experienced left hip tightness while running the bases Tuesday night and left the game.
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Luis Severino (lat) was expected to throw three or four innings and up to 50 pitches in his first rehab start at Triple-A on Wednesday, which was just beginning at the time of writing. The plan is for the righty to make another rehab start on Tuesday.
“Then we’ll see where we’re at,” Boone added. Severino had hoped to only need two rehab starts.
Southpaw Matt Krook is dealing with a minor back issue at Triple-A. A member of the Yankees’ 40-man roster, he had better numbers (1.54 ERA over 11.2 IP) than Garcia while pitching in a similar role.