The Yankees have agreed to sign Freddy Garcia to a minor league contract, reports ESPN.com's Jerry Crasnick (Twitter link). The deal will pay Garcia $1.5MM if he makes the Major League roster, and the total value of the contract could be worth $5.1MM if Garcia reaches all his start-based incentive plateaus, up to 30 starts. Garcia is represented by Peter Greenberg.
Garcia, 35, expressed his preference to pitch for the Yankees earlier this week, saying it would be "an inspiration" to pitch in the pressurized environments of both New York and the AL East. The Mets, Orioles and White Sox all showed some degree of interest in Garcia this winter, though Garcia ruled out a return to Chicago earlier today.
The veteran right-hander posted a 4.64 ERA, 1.98 K/BB ratio and a 40.7% ground ball rate in 28 starts with the White Sox last season. Garcia threw 157 Major League innings in 2010 — he pitched in just 129 innings combined over the prior three seasons due to nagging shoulder injuries.
Garcia joins the likes of Bartolo Colon, Ivan Nova, Andrew Brackman, Sergio Mitre and even Mark Prior in the battle for the final two starting spots in the Yankee rotation. This competition could be limited to just the number five spot, of course, should Andy Pettitte announce his return.
In before some moron says this will put the Yankees over the top.
In before some fool says this will put the Yankees over the top.
Liek thank gawd they got this here move done signed here. I wuz startin’ to get worry som’n fierce they wuldnt sign no none impact arms this here offseason righ here
Yeah!! What he said!
I hate to break this to y’all, but the Yanks are going to be just fine this year.
Will they win the World Series? Because that is all that counts for the Yankees.
If you ain’t first, you’re last.
I can’t wait to see everyone we signed not play in the majors at all this season.
No chance he makes the team.. Ivan Nova is likely ahead of him on depth charts.
Nova is in the rotation regardless. The battle is basically for the 5th spot.
Minor league deal…no risk high reward
He has a career 109 ERA+, could you elaborate on where the high reward is? Low risk/high reward is Justin Duchscherer to the O’s on cheap money. This is “invite as many people to ST as possible and hope one of them doesn’t stink up the joint.”
Don’t get me wrong, the risk is minimal (That risk being he could cost them a game or two if he makes the team), but Garcia hasn’t pitched 200+ innings since 2006, and that was at pretty mediocre numbers. There is no “high reward” in this situation.
This IS a low risk/high reward signing. The level of reward and expectations vary depending on the player and the risk. You reall are arguing semantics.
Case 1= Brandon Webb, signed @ $3 mil guaranteed on 25 man roster has one level of expectation based on his past.
Case 2= Garcia was signed to a minor lge contract that will guarantee him $1.5 mil if he made the ream. WHat’s expected of him? No more than what he did last year. 150 IP and a 4.75 FIP or lower.
Funny that you mention Garcia hasn’t pitched 200 IP since 2006 and use Duchscherer as an example of a low risk/high reqrd signing. He hasn’tpitched 30 inning TOTAL since……2008. He has never pitched more than 145 innings in his entire carerr. He IS a low risk/high reward signing as well but I think you should expect less from him as a starter than you would from Garcia.
I’m sorry if this seems like semantics, but if I buy a powerball ticket for a buck and the jackpot is twenty bucks, it’d nice and all to hit that, but it’s still not high reward, regardless of where my expectations have been set.
Most investors would consider a 200% return in an investment a great deal. You have to get over the idea that a minor lge signing isn’t a high reward unless they post above average production.
Baseball signings are a poor comparison to a lottery pick. Most GMs have reasonable expectations and know what a player’s best case and worst case scenarios are probably going to be. If Garcia put up a year similar to that in 2010 w/ 150 IP and a 4.50 to 4.75 FIP then chances are he has met Cashman’s highest expectations.
Meant 2,000% return.
I’ll say medium reward at best
cant go wrong with minor league contracts
What? Minor League
Good for him, he probably will make a decent amount of money if he breaks camp, which I can’t imagine he won’t. Doubt he will be able to find success in AL East though, he was barely average in the weaker AL Central.
Freddy Garcia won’t make it.. he gave up 23 long balls in Chicago last year, and hasn’t been sharp since 2006.
I’d like to see the difference of home runs given up at Yankee Stadium compared to the Cell
probably depends on if a righty or lefty is batting…because if the hitters have right field as their pull field i bet a ton more…yea right in the cell is short but they dont have that wind tunnel that is in yankee stadium
Cell ranked #1 (1.5) in HR/G and NYS was #3 (1.4)
Damn, I was hoping to see Mitre out every 5th day.
Good for him. He’s been lobbying for the Yankees to sign him.
I’m disappointed he signed a minor league deal instead of returning to the White Sox where he probably would have pitched.
for about 3 weeks then either gone to the pen or gotten DFA’d they sox dont need someone like freddy they need an emergency guy or a AAA guy that can keep them in games untill peavy comes back then send the dude down
The Sox tried the so called reclaim projects for the last 3 years and you’ll all seen what that got them…good luck with colon and Garcia…
ya…the only difference is you guys signed Smoltz Penny to $10.5MM in guaranteed money and a major league deal. These guys both got minor league deals and are Pettitte insurance. If Andy doesn’t come back, they’ll trade for a starter after a few months. With the early season schedule and all the off days the 5th starter doesn’t even pitch that much. Sorry you have no comprehension of minor league deals.
chill dude, the guy includes an obvious dig at his own team and you attack him? just chill
the guy makes a snarky comment about Colon and Garcia like the Yankees were counting on them like the Red Sox were counting on Penny Smoltz. The situations are completely different. If you’re going to try and make of a team you should at least know wtf you’re talking about.
for the record, the Sox were only counting on Penny/Smoltz to be their number 5 when they were signed. I agree the money is completely different and I know where you’re coming from, but you can’t re-write history regarding the injuries to the staff that forced penny and smoltz into more prominent roles either.
Hey, he can rewrite history in his mind if he wants. He’ll be just as wrong.
Well the Yanks are only looking at Garcia and Colon as #5 options as well so what’s the difference? Nova might be listed as a #4 just because of his rookie status and thus having little to judge by but I think they expect more out of Nova than they do out of Garcia or Colon. In reality, the rotation in terms of best to worst is probably CC-Hughes-AJ-Nova-Garcia/Colon
The difference, is in the amount of money they’re making. Low risk; high reward.
more like low risk , low reward
That’s my point. He said that the Sox were relying on Penny/Smoltz more than the Yankees are relying on Colon/Garcia.
No, they’re counting on *FOUR* of Hughes, Burnett, Mitre, Nova, Garcia, Prior, Colon, a pitcher in the Phillies rotatoin and a 38 year old who’s sipping Arnold Palmers on his porch in Texas to be average to above average starters in the AL East. Good luck with all that.
Why is every Phillie fan trying to push Blanton off on us?
Because he owns a lousy contract and they are hoping that the Yankees are desperate enough to take on that horrific salary because the Yanks appear to be desperate……
because the rest of baseball knows you’ll pay twice as much as he’s worth because he’d be a numbers 2 on your staff.
Really this is coming from a Mets fan? Blanton may be a #2 on the Mets, but he would barely be an upgrade over Mitre in the Yanks rotation! And this is a weak rotation for the yanks!
How about no; The Mets had a better rotation ERA last year, so while your knee jerk reaction to talk down about the Mets is typical, you’re just plain wrong.
Sorry despite what most Yankee fans think, your team isn’t perfect and the Mets aren’t the worst team in baseball.
Except the Mets were in one of the weakest divisions in baseball, and the Yanks are in the Strongest. I don’t think any team would take the Mets rotation over the Yanks, even with the Yanks being in shambles. The Mets aren’t even contenders this year, and won’t be for quite some time, so please, YOU need to get off your high horse on one of the worst put together teams in the MLB.
high horse, easy their buddy; You’re the one who brought up the Mets, presumabley because of my screen name, but this is a Yankee post and as everyone knows the almighty Yankees are held to a higher standard, so it’s truely a waste of time comparing them to the lowely Mets.
“so it’s truely a waste of time comparing them to the lowely Mets.”. With you saying that Yourself, then what’s the point of Mets fans saying “Yankees suck”, when their own team does?
There is more to a team than a starting rotation.
Here’s something I also know although I’m not sure if you do so I’ll tell you anyway
95-67 > 78-84
well, well, looks like someone is living in the past to try and escape the future, and I understand it’s okay, good luck with that.
well, well, looks like someone hasn’t looked at the recent farm system rankings and has seen his favorite team, the mets have one of the worst farm systems in all of baseball and has seen probably his most hated team, the yankees have one of the tops farm systems in all of baseball, and i understand it’s okay, good luck with that.
Don’t exaggerate. He’d be #3.
A number 2? Ahead of Hughes? Right…….In the AL East I would expect him to pitch no better than AJ.
The fact that he’s still on the Phillies makes me EXCEPTIONALLY happy that he won’t be a part of the Yanks rotation, more so because of the ridiculous trade proposals most Phillies fans have floated.
Prior was signed to pitch out of the pen…for what it’s worth.
well is bartolo colon signed and now its freddy garcia.
between the 2 of them they may make a terrible 5th starter in the AL east
might as well resign chad gaudin while they are at it
Actually Garcia made a decent #5 starter last year. And when you consider it’ll move Mitre out of the rotation it makes a decent signing.
as stated previously he’s moving from the AL central aka 1 of the weaker divisions in baseball to the AL east aka the strongest division in baseball.
maybe he could work out atleast the def behind him is better in NY
He is in the AL East and that will hurt, but the Rays offense will be worse and he doesn’t have to face the best offense in baseball. If Andy doesn’t come back he’ll be able to eat some innings until a trade is made.
but he will have to face the best offense in baseball, now more often.. when he faces the Boston Red Sox. now that they have Crawford and Gonzalez. along with full seasons from Ellsbury and Pedroia.
full season from ellsbury sounds scary, the yankees still have the best offense in baseball.
And a full season from Youk
And full seasons from Beltre and Martinez…
You really think that an extra half season from each of Pedroia and Youk plus the additions of AGON and Crawford don’t more than make up for a full season of Beltre and 3/4 season from VMart (broken thumb)? You’re delusional, please seek help.
I will not argue that the potential to put up more runs is not there. However, injuries are an enormous and unpredictable factor, and it seems every Red Sox is coming off of one. Could they all come back healthy and put up a monster, record breaking year? Absolutely. Could a few get injured and have a similar statistical team season as last year. Absolutely.
And, to address my VMart and Beltre commment. I will convert to a Sox fan they can manage 100 rbi and a .300 average out of the C spot this year in a full season. And Youk is a wash at 3b with Beltre’s career year last year (offensively and defensively)
I would actually say that Youk is a slight downgrade at 3B from last year, but AGON is an improvement at 1B. Here’s the problem with your argument though, you’re looking at the C position in a vacuum, you say how it is weaker (which it is) so the offense is worse. You completely overlook the gains in LF and CF. It isn’t all about the long ball in boston anymore. There may be a slight drop in HR’s, but SB’s will go through the roof with a full season of Ells and Crawford.
Also, do you know for certain that Beltre/VMart will be healthy this year? If not, please tell me how the injury argument is relevant here, all teams face this same uncertainty, to claim that other players could prevent it is absurd. Yes many Red Sox are coming off of injury, which is why there is so much potential for an upgrade, they are all healthy right now (aside from AGon and his shoulder, although he is throwing again).
Batting practice pitcher?
Only thing that makes sense to me.
People don’t seem to understand that if you have a #5 starter with an ERA around 5.00 then you are better off than 30 other teams.
Tell that to Yankee fans (or any competitive team really)
There’s 31 teams in baseball?
30 other teams and the yankee’s make 31 fella
Mr Brainiac checks in! No kidding. There are 32 teams. ‘Better than 30 other teams’ means that there is one team better off. It’s pretty simple math really. Glad to see that you made it through 2nd grade.
ok fella dont get your shorts in a knot
WOW. 30 teams people. Not 31 and not 32.
I was wondering who the 31st and 32nd team was after I counted the team rumors twice.
They still think the Expos are around.
And the St. Louis Browns….
That…is…embarrassing.
You’re not better off than “30 other teams” when you’re paying $16.5MM to your #3 starter, who is also likely to post an ERA around 5.00, and still don’t know who your #4 or 5 definitely is.
So rotation orders should be based on a players salary? If that’s the case, the Red Sox rotation would be almost like going Worst to First.
Last I also saw, the Giants highest paid pitcher (and player) was not even in the playoffs.
Way to miss my point by a mile.
If I thought orders should be based on salary, I would have called Burnett the #2.
So then why are you using salary to determine how strong/weak a rotation is?
“You’re not better off than “30 other teams” when you’re paying $16.5MM to your #3 starter,”
You’re taking things almost entirely out of context.
My point was that it’s embarrassing for a team with seemingly unlimited resources to have AJ Burnett as their 3rd starter, and have Freddy Garcia and Bartolo Colon battling with 2 rookies for the 4 and 5 spots.
I only noted his salary because it makes the situation seem even more embarrassing for them than it already is.
Well I certainly don’t disagree with you there. But hey, Red Sox are paying Lackey and Beckett about the same amount and they prob will get ERA’s in the high 4’s from them too. Although I’d easily take either one over Burnett. But I’d also probably put CC and maybe even Hughes ahead of them in the Yankees rotation as is.
Nontheless, I’ll agree with your main point and say there is no way it’s “stacked”. Whoever said that should re-think that.
Beyond Lester and Buchholz, I’m not incredibly high on the Red Sox rotation, either. Especially for what they’re paying Lackey, Beckett and Matsuzaka.
But I’d VERY easily take their rotation over the Yankees. Sabathia’s an outstanding Ace, but beyond that I’d be extremely worried unless I knew Pettitte was definitely coming back, and/or was confident that Burnett could get back to his 2008 form.
Oh without question it’s better than the Yankees easily, but I think people really people really overrated it. It is the same as last year and it put up average numbers in the AL. The only guys I’d trust for sure are Lester and Buchholz, all the rest are ?’s.
But yes I agree easily, I’d take it over the Yankees (right now that is lol). Of course all of us would have taken the Phillies rotation in the playoffs last year too.
“It is the same as last year and it put up average numbers in the AL.”
A year in which two of them were injured for a couple months, one of them was in the AL East for the first time and all of them were stuck pitching in front of a hastily cobbled defense consisting of standouts like Marco Scutaro’s busted right shoulder, Bill Hall, Darnell MacDonald, Mike Lowell with no hip and out of position and Daniel Nava.
First off, as I’ve pointed out many times before, Lackey actually had a pretty good second half. He put up an ERA under four and a WHIP around 1.2 in said second half and all of his peripherals improved. He had an awful first half, which one could chalk up to an adjustment period, but he was actually extremely reliable in the second. All told, I think he had 18 quality starts last year. He also led the team in IP.
Beckett, as noted, was hurt. His only two problems on his own were inflated walk and home run problems (Both the second worst of his career). In addition to his own problems, though, he had a career high BABIP of .338. That is borderline unsustainable. His FIP was a very poor 4.54, so the jury’s out. That said, he’s not even 31 yet, odds are, he’ll bounce back.
Matsuzaka. Heck, who knows with him. His BABIP was actually very low, but his FIP wasn’t awful (Just north of 4). I think Beckett and Lackey will have good seasons, him, I’m not even going to venture a guess. He’s either going to post an ERA of 2.90 or 5.10. There is no middle ground to be found.
I think there’s a good chance, if healthy, that they can turn it around too, and I certainly do not expect worse numbers from Beckett. Dice-K is a toss up though, you don’t know what to expect.
one bad year for burnett and all of a sudden he’s gonna post an era of around 5. I wonder what that means for beckett who was considerably worse last year.
I said it was LIKELY that Burnett would post an ERA around 5.00. I didn’t say that he WOULD. And the Red Sox might not want to count on Beckett being the Beckett of old, either. So it’s a good thing I’m not a Red Sox fan, and couldn’t care less.
But if I WERE a Red Sox fan, I would at least be comfortable knowing they have two studs in Lester and Buccholz, and that Beckett might not have to be much more than a solid #4, anyway.
thats really not how baseball works at all players can have off years and come back fine.
And you think I’m not aware of that?
All I’m saying is that I would be very uncomfortable if I were a Yankee fan, and was relying on AJ Burnett to be the number 2 or 3 starter this year. And I’m pretty sure I’m not alone there. MILLIONS of Yankee fans have been freaking out ever since Cliff Lee didn’t accept their offer.
“Freaking out” isn’t exactly the right term, but more of “Pissed off” at Pettitte’s delay. Him not returning (yet) is the reason they got Colon and Garcia.
I don’t know. I think they might have still signed them, anyway. Or at least have signed other similar pitchers.
Don’t get me wrong. I do like those two signings. There’s no such a thing as a bad minor league deal, in my opinion. You can never have enough depth. And Garcia and Colon have more upside than 75% of the other pitchers signed to minor league deals this winter. I just wouldn’t want to potentially have to count on them, is all.
With a payroll of over $200 million a year, you’d hope that they could do better than most teams. Unfortunately for the Yankees, it looks like 3-4/5 of their rotation will be making the claim that they’re better than most teams’ 5th starters.
Oh, the old payroll argument again? Really? That all you got?
The Yankees have one of the best farm systems in the league now. They had more homegrown players on their roster last year than any team in baseball.
Their payroll is high because they keep their star players and reward them instead of the majority of the pathetic league who chicken out when their guys are due real money yet the owners still pocket profits.
The Rays had more players developed within their system than any other team..But the Yankees do take care of their players for the most part..was shocked they told Jeter to test the market.
I don’t recall saying anything about the farm system or any of the other jibberish you’re spouting. If you don’t think it’s an embarrassing rotation for a $200 million team, enjoy your delusion.
“they keep their star players and reward them”
I’m sure Jeter and Williams and Pettitte last season might not feel all that love. I think if they didn’t play hardball with Andy last year he’d already be signed.
Hope you aren’t a Red Sox or Phillies fan. (I could add the Cubs, Mets, and Angels if I want to also)
Hope that hope works out for you. And the Yankees.
I’ll take that as a Yes that you are.
You are a pretty ignorant fan… most fans would be happy to field the team that the yanks have year in and year out! It may not be their best team ever, but it still will be extremely competitive. Don’t just throw out the money argument because the yanks are willing to spend. Their owners arent even the richest in the league. No reason to penalize them because they actually spend the money they make instead of pocket it. I’d imagine most fans of any team would be happy if their owners had that mindset.
Yankee Stadium may be the place to be to get souvenirs every 5 days or so.
with that little band box it’s souvenir city, thanks to the NYC tax payer.
Pity about the Mets?
“pity about the Mets?” funny I thought this post was about the Yankees and their big offseason acquisition…
whats the matter, big Yankee fan can’t handle a little disapointment without deflecting it on to the Mets? now THAT is a pity
No it’s just funny to see a fan of a bad team such as the Mets make fun of a better team like the Yankees. It’s like a Knick fan making fun of the Lakers.
We just get kicks out of Met fans of all fans who say “Yankees suck they are garbage” etc.
How’s the CITI MORGUE doing? That’s a true waste of NYC tax revenue!
Three months ago the Yankees seemed pretty sure that they would add Cliff Lee to the rotation and have the best 1-2 starting tandem in the AL. Ninety days later, they have to settle for a couple of broken down pitchers well past their prime. The Yankee offense will have to produce big time when either of those guys take the mound – if they ever do.
I hope that I’m wrong but I have a feeling that this is going to be a decent signing for the Yankees. It’s got to be better than Colon.
So the Yankees basically have picked up 2 pitchers who in their last 4 seasons (so basically 8 seasons total) have pitched 542 innings. An average of 271 innings each and 67.75 innings per year.
Plan B certainly has worked for Cashman!
I guess John Maine is next right?
That’s such a stupid assessment, because last time I checked Colon had been out of the league 2-4 years. With thta kind of talk, you must be a mets or red sox fan.
O Rly?
what do you want out of your 5th starter? I’m assuming you’re a yankees fan so you probably want 16+ wins a sub 3.00 E.R.A and a w.h.i.p right around 1.30 with a 9+k/9 and a 3-bb/9 right? throw in a no hitter and a perfect game all in one season. Thats what you expect out of your 5th starter….well thats not baseball and for every other than other than the phillies whos #5 is a mid rotation guy on almost every other team. a typical 5th starter is in there to save the pen eat innings typically throw 150 + innings double digit wins is nice an era right around era around 4 low bb/9 decent k/9(depending on what type of pitcher he is) and a whip rought around 1.5 with a war some where from .5-1…freddy last season pitched 157 innings won 12 games had a close to 2/1 stirke out to walk ration with a 5.1k/9 and a 2.58BB/9 with a 1.32HR/9 line a ERA 4.6 not great not bad either a whip of 1.38 pretty good for the last guy in the rotation and had a WAR of 1.3….i would say as a minor league signing for a 5th guy its great…heck its a damn good major leagu signing
The Yankees are a team with a rotation currently of only TWO good starters pitching in a division that’s probably the toughest division in baseball to win. I’m not saying I expected a great pitcher and great numbers out of the number 5 slot, with Colon, Garcia, or whoever. But getting two old veteran injury prone pitchers does not help your team much. The Yankees will have to ask a lot from their number 5 pitcher since they probably will have an innings limit on Nova, and Burnett is probably a 6+ inning pitcher at this point.
“Burnett is probably a 6+ inning pitcher at this point”
You’re really getting me excited! Burnett give me six, Joba/Feliciano in the seventh, Soriano in the eight and Mo in the ninth. I’ll take that!
Yeah but then you have Nova and the number 5 pitcher whoever it may be, and they could probably even only be 5+ innings pitched.
The only guy you can pretty much 8 or 9 times out of 10 guarantee a 7th inning is Sabathia. Hughes is probably 50/50. AJ is 40/60. Nova and #5 starter are probably 10/90.
Just giving random numbers, but expect the Yankees bullpen to be one of the tops in the majors in innings pitched.
I don’t think there’s a need for much of an innings limit for Nova. Between AAA and his mlb callup he pitched 187 innings last year.
Ahh thanks for the info. But who knows with them though, they have so many limits and restrictions. Hopefully not, but it wouldn’t surprise me if they did.
I love that these guys are seemingly going to pitch every day in the minds of Yankee fans. I’ll love watching them get burned out by July.
I think that’s the point. No one is expecting them to pitch from March to September. But IF either of them show enough to make it out of AAA and we can hold the fort and get maybe 200 IP and a 4.50-4.80 FIP out of the two collectively then for $2.4 mil-$6 mil total it’s a good deal.
Here’s another perspective.
a) Hold the fort until either something better comes along via trade or one of the kids in AAA shows they are deserving of a call up.
b) If the AAA rotation looks something like some combination of Noesi/Phelps/Brackman/Mitchell/Betances/Banuelos/Warren with Garcia, Prior or Colon there to give them some mentoring and advice for the future, then so be it.
I was actually referring to the relief tandem of Mo/Soriano. I’ve just always hated the “now games are only 6 innings!!1!1!” argument. If they ride those 2 like pack mules (which they will), there’s still 90-100 games each of them don’t pitch in.
But I sort of agree with your assessment…my quibble with it is that the beginning of the season is far from meaningless. I posted elsewhere, but the Red Sox and Yankees had the same record after May 7th last season. The Red Sox poor start ended their season before it began.
So lets see heres the stacked Pitching Rotation!!
1. CC Sabathia
2. Cliff Lee
3. AJ Burnett
4. Andy Pettite
5. Freddy Garcia
THAT ROTATIONS STACKED!!!!$$$$!!!!!
WHAT??? What do you mean Cliff Lee signed with Philly, and Andy Pettite doesn’t want to play anymore, and everyone in the Bronx Sucks, and No one wants to play there except for a bunch of over the hill people, and they are thinking of turning Yankee Stadium into a nursing home???????????? Your just being ridiculous!!! Our Rotations stacked we are the mighty mighty Yankees!!!
Oh wait … this is a reality… Dammit the hell with the Yankees 🙁
Lame
Sir..I want to lead a campaign to like the sugar out of this statement. The one 4 letter word was a perfect response.
Garcia is simply someone to add to the mix. If he can pitch to a 4.50 FIP and give us 150 IP then I’ll take it.
So, I can’t help but feel none of Mitre, Garcia, Colon, or Prior will enjoy spending their season in AAA. Nova and Brackman also have talent ready for the MLB, to attempt to acquire this kind of depth is just unnecessary.
My guess is Pettitte retires, Colon and Nova get the last two spots and Garcia takes a long relief job. Mitre gets snubbed, it’s just inevitable which is a bummer because the kid has potential.
Mitre actually had a decent 2010 season
He didn’t strike out many but he gave up far less hits than he did in 09 in basically the same amount of innings. In 2009, 51 innings, 71 hits. 2010- 54 innings, 43 hits.
Agreed on that, I liked that 3.33 ERA. What I don’t like is the thought of him getting torched every 3rd start he has. The reality is, he is really not fit to be in our rotation, unless he gets as much run support as Hughes did last year (which most times he didn’t need).
Here’s a news flash. Garcia pitched in the worst HR ballpark last year yet delivered 18 quality starts from his 28 games pitched. I’ll gladly take that from him for $5 mil total if he makes the team.
Of those 18 quality starts (6 IP, 3 runs or less) 1 was vs TB, 1 vs Boston, 2 vs Texas and 1 vs NYY.
Freddy isn’t a lot to shout about but he had a better year in 2010 than Javy Vasquez
Javy……..10 wins 157…ip…5.32 ERA
Freddy…..12 wins 157..ip…4.64 ERA
Why show wins? They are useless.
I suddenly remember why I don’t hang out in Yankee-related threads.
Met related threads are 10x worse. they feel like glenn beck threads once the O name is mentioned.
The Yanks see Garcia as a backup along with Proir and Colon. The offense will score more runs than last year and the relief pitching is better. Pettitte puts the Yanks in the drivers seat with Nova an adequete#5. Everyone knows the Yanks will pick up the best pitcher available mid-year if necessary. I like the idea of adding Nova but I don’t see any of the above as plan A. Sometimes veterans can surprise like Pedro did for the Phills or Contreras, but I wouldn’t expect it.
Wrong. See what I have below. Prior is attempting a comeback as a reliever. Not a starter.
Last years performance mean very little when it comes to pitchers.
My favorite part about all these people acting like the Yankees are doomed is the forget that they won the WS in 2009 with CC/AJ/Andy. If Andy returns, CC/Hughes/Andy isn’t much different. Maybe even better. And this year they’ll have a great bullpen on top of it.
This is a MINOR LEAGUE SIGNING….ZERO RISK. I know everyone hates the Yankees and likes to pile on. Let’s compare 5th starters right now from their 2010 #’s.
5th starter A: 4.69 era 4.73 xFIP 4.05 FIP 7.79K 4.33BB 1.8 k/bb
5th starter B: 4.64 era 4.59 XFIP 4.77 FIP 5.10K 2.58 BB 1.98 k/bb
A is Dice-K and B is Garcia. Except Garcia probably won’t even end up starting. Dice-K only beat him in K/9 and FIP. Garcia wins in ERA, xFIP and K/BB.
Everyone needs to
a) realize it is a minor league signing and has zero risk
b) most teams don’t have good 5th starters
c) those same teams w/ out good 5th starters don’t have an elite offense and dominant bullpen and the $/prospects to make a big trade during the season.
News flash, which apparently a lot of people haven’t picked up on, even though this news is a few weeks old. PRIOR IS ATTEMPTING A COMEBACK AS A RELIEVER!!!! I’m so sick of people (like the author of this piece) lumping Prior in as a possible starting option. Prior has admitted this elsewhere in many places. His comeback is as a reliever only.
This is certainly a step in the right direction for the Yankees.
It’s the only step the Yankees could make buddy.
HaHa!! Once again, the Yankees Starting Rotation is a tv sitcom.
C.C. Sabathia- the Stud Ace
Phil Hughes- Quiet but strong
A.J. Burnett- Man trying to prove himself
Nova, Brackman- the Newbies who are trying to make it in the bigs
and
Prior, Colon, and Garcia- The former Aces who are trying to recapture past glory!!
Great Drama for a Sitcom!!!
Prior, Colon, and Garcia
See above re: Prior. Attempting comeback as a reliever, not a starter.
It is going to be tough to make a comeback as a mop up reliever. There may not be a lot of regular innings available They already have their 7th, 8th and 9th guys already. He may have to go to AAA.
huh ? This isn’t a serious post is it??
Do you think Joba, Soriano and Mo are going to pitch everyday?
With the Yanks rotation, there will be plenty of innings to go around, not every game will be a close one and soriano, mo, joba will get in to 1 every 3 games roughly
Thanks. I didn’t know that.
lol at burnett
the guy’s been trying to prove himself for more than 10 years!!
honestly i rather have freddy g than sergio mitre at best is a mop up man freddy g can eat innings i think this is a good sign for the rotation if andy doesnt come back and we can manage until july 31 to get a big starter
It’s Freddy Garcia’s “preference” to pitch for the Yankess.
It’s also the Red Sox “preference” that Garcia pitches for the Yankees.
Garcia in his career vs. Boston is 8-2 with a 4.40 ERA, 1.27 WHIP
And against Tampa, 8-2, 3.56 ERA, 1.19 WHIP
Poor numbers vs. Toronto, and average numbers against Baltimore.
Freddy has been thru many teams along with many gin and tonics since posting most of those numbers.
Well if you’re interested then in B v P
Crawford 6-18
Ellsbury 1-6
Youlk 2-11
Ortiz 6-29
A-Gon 0-3
Pedroia 1-5
Scutaro 6-12
Some are small samples of course, but with the exception of Scutaro and Crawford, no one has done much against him.
Unfortunately for the Yankees rotation it’s no longer 2002.
Yeah it isn’t 2002. Nova and Hughes were still probably in high school, and CC was in his 2nd year in the bigs and now is one of the best pitchers in baseball.
It would have been a much better rotation. Feel free to keep using career numbers for the likes of Freddy Garcia if it makes you feel better.
Feel free to add “intelligence” to your posts if it makes you feel better, except you make yourself look ignorant each time you try to post something you think is intelligent.
I love how they say “if” he reaches the major league roster. Like they have an ace starter waiting in the wings. Ha ha ha
I find it odd, that pitchers developed under Larry Rothschild are coming and going from the Yankees.
What a terrible off-season for the Yankees. Though, he’ll probably have a better shot at the 5th spot than Bartolo.
Not as bad as the Angels offseason.
Some of you really need therapy for your Yankee hate. Has it been that long for you since Boston won a title? Poor things.
The Yankees have at least 3 potential top of the rotation starters in AA moving up this year. They are a step away from the majors.
Meanwhile Boston can’t develop a legit 1b so they have to trade their only pitching prospect for another team’s star. They couldn’t even develop an OF’er and overpaid Crawford who the Red Sox fans will turn on by year 2 for not doing enough for his salary.
Enjoy watching your old overpaid starters fall apart this season! Beckett’s gonna be wicked, right? Sure.
Enjoy watching that crap pitching staff in the Bronx get lit up.
“Meanwhile Boston can’t develop a legit 1b”
Oh and the Yankees can? I rly didn’t know that
All this huff about Freddy Garcia. What I want to know is where’s Sir Sidney Ponson when we need him?
Is this a joke?
Just to throw out for reference to the “they’ll just trade for the best starter available midseason” crowd:
A) there’s no guarantee in that. See Lee, Cliff last season and this offseason.
B) a poor start can doom your entire season. The Yankees and the Red Sox had the exact same record from May 7th on. April ruined any chance they had coming into the season.
C) see B. The Pawtucket Red Sox had the same record as the Yankees for almost the entire season. That wouldn’t make me all that comfortable.
Guess the Paw Sox would have finished ahead of the Red Sox also, huh?
c) Would be true if it weren’t absolutely false.
April 30: Yanks 1.5 back, Sox 6 back
May 31: Yanks 2.5 back, Sox 5 back
June 30: Yanks up 1, Sox back 1
JUly 30: Yanks up 1, Sox back 7.5
Aug 30: Yanks tied for 1st, Sox back 7
Sept 30: Yanks tied for 1st, Sox back 7
So no, the Sox had a sniff for the month of June but did not have the same record as the Yanks for the entire season.
All that being said, I am more fearful of the Sox all being healthy than I am of CC and Agonz.
They had the same win/loss record after May 7th. The Red Sox were 6 games back on that day. Same place they ended. Of course it went back and forth during that time. Edit: actually the Sox had played 2 more games at that time, but you still get the picture. The poor APRIL was a killer.
I hope the Yankees don’t make any trades. I’d really like to see some of Noesi, Brackman, Banuelos, et al. Always love seeing highly touted guys take the stage, even if they are Yankees.
Don’t really see the debate here. It’s obvious they are signing all these past their prime guys to low risk contracts hoping they can squeeze some innings out of a few of them till they can make some trades. Once some teams fall out of contention early or need to fill some spots due to injuries etc they’ll be there to lure someone in to cutting lose their #2 or #3. Marlins, Indians may be options. Also , I know he’s been brutal for a couple yrs., but if the Angels aren’t competing I wouldn’t be shocked if they went after Kazmir.
I meant top 53 PROSPECTS.
Just love playing that BoSox vs Yanks game w/ you BC.
lol who doesn’t?
Bring back Aaron Small!
And Shawn Chacon!
He won 12 games with Chicago last season. Thats at least 15 with the Yanks. Good signing. You guys are delusional.
Did the Yankees get moved to the AL Central?
What’s with the Yankees picking up all the former White Sox players off the scrap heap? Brain anderson, andruw jones, Bartolo MIA Colon, Now Garcia? Someone must of loved swisher.
Yankees are going to miss the playoffs this year, their pitching is god awful
show details 11:09 PM (8 hours ago)
hrbomber1113 wrote, in response to RedSox69:
ya…the only difference is you guys signed Smoltz Penny to $10.5MM in guaranteed money and a major league deal. These guys both got minor league deals and are Pettitte insurance. If Andy doesn’t come back, they’ll trade for a starter after a few months. With the early season schedule and all the off days the 5th starter doesn’t even pitch that much. Sorry you have no comprehension of minor league deals…Iwas’n talking about the money…just sayin the Yanks are claiming the bottom pitchers NOW…not the Sox…in which the Yank fans laugh at the last 3 seasons…well…like I said what comes around goes around….LOL
I’m not sure that Lackey was a “bottom” pitcher prior to the Boston signing.
Bartolo Colon & Freddy Garcia…. did I miss something? Did Omar Minaya accept a job with the yankees?
thank god the mets dont have a hispanic GM anymore, now they can sign mediocre latino players w/o their fans having to make everything a racial controversy.
bad enough after signing such poor prospects as wilmer flores, jennry mejia, aderlin rodriguez, cesar puello, urbina, that omar shows he has NO value as advisor to the team in latin america. never mind drafting pelfrey, niese, gee, parnell, davis, havens, thole..and having helped the mets sign reyes & nelson cruz during his first tenure as asst. GM in charge of international scouting from 98-01.
I mean why would the mets want to keep someone like that in their org to advise them on international prospects??
notice no controversy or racial digs thrown at brian cashman for signing bartolo colon & freddy garcia. if this were omar minaya signing these 2 washed up bums, can u imagine the kind of remarks that would’ve been on this board..
As an impartial fan, I just have to comment that the yankee/red sox rivalry is truly a battle of wits.. after reading some of the comments I have decided to poor gasoline on myself and light a match, maybe then I’ll get some relief..
That being said, people act as if the Yankees lost 2 stud pitchers from last year and all of a sudden they are left empty handed.. they didn’t lose cliff lee, you can’t lose something you never had..
They won 95 games last year, with the same rotation, minus Andy.. and pretty much packed it in down the stretch and rested players instead of trying to win the division (one the wild card was locked up) I really don’t get the big deal… They will still be a 90+ win team. period… and this is coming from someone who doesn’t really care for the yanks at all.
From Pettite, Vazquez, Mitre, Mosely and Nova the Yanks got 373 IP @ a 4.89 ERA. That is what the Yanks are looking to replace for 2011. If CC and Hughes continue to pitch well and we get anything better than what we had from AJ then I think the Yanks will be ok.
The issue here is that 90+ wins doesn’t necessarily get you into the playoffs.
It probably will this year.. Theres no punching bag in the AL this year, which means teams like the O’s and Jays may steal a 1 or 2 games from the Sox and Yanks this year.. They may gain some back from the Rays, but all in all, a tougher division means we could see more parody and only 1 90 win team in the division.
Keep stringing them along Andy. The Yankees deserve it. Pettite may be the first Yankee/Red Sox player that I can stomach.
I want some of what Freddie is smoking. He’s so far down the depth charts, everybody is ahead of him. Good move by the Yanks though, no risk.
Another stupid move with low reward…Garcia won’t make it through the year with his arm, guranteed…He is the 2nd coming of Javier Vasquez, no velocity or movement on the ball and its gonna sail a long ways to Jersey…. Pray that one of these kids in the minors decides to step up and become the next Big Time Timmy Jim…But don’t forget, still have no pop in the lineup that died last year and limped through the playoffs thanks to Cano…Oh! And Nova, our 4th starter who couldn’t make it through the 5th inning last year….Yeah, I like our chances…Thanks Cash! Go Yanks….
Uh, what? How is there no pop in the lineup? It’s virtually the same lineup as last year, the one you criticized, except that they ranked third in the majors in homers. Freddy Garcia is the second coming of Javier Vasquez? Not really, the Yanks don’t lose anything with this move, whereas they moved some pieces(namely Vizcaino) and the expectations for Javi were pretty high. If you have high expectations for Garcia you’re just as dumb as your post makes you sound.
He pitched 157 innings last year and pitched in the ballpark that gave up the most hrs per game. For $1.5 mil IF he makes the team this move isn’t much to cry about.
I’ve just heard that the Yankees have contacted Bob Feller through a spirit medium and he is in the early stages of negotiations with God to earn his wings early, fly down to Yankee Stadium and sign what may be the largest contract in the history of sports. Apparently this contract will be for 100 years $2 Billion.
Another Yankee fan!!!
LOL
Guaranteed winner of 20 games. Of course, understand, he was 80 years old.
Bob Feller before he died said that if he made a come back all he would need was “a fast OF, an air tight defense, and a dead ball”.
The bronx just got a lot sweatier!
No…just the NL East.
like comparing a crap to a turd, except Ollie is going to be flushed after spring, and AJ is the the meat in a dookie sandwich.
Excuse me, I meant minor lge pitch. He hasn’t thrown a single pitch yet and you have him as being as good oe better than guys who’ve at least made it to AA.
Eh, the yankees are just throwing out their net grabbing as much as they can and will give them a shot. These are all risky signings, but the money is next to nothing for the yankees and if one of them is durable they could be a good 4/5 starter. I dont mind their strategy.
I fail to see how minor league deals are risky signings.
Well very low risk, you are giving money to a guy who could just sit on your bench the entire time.
I hope Prior makes the team and pitches in Wrigley one more time
The Yankees replacement for missing out on Cliff Lee: A choosing from the likes of Mark Prior, Bartolo Colon, and Freddy Garcia. What a joke. Hahaha. Good luck getting washed away by the new and improved Orioles this year.
edit: Coming from a Phillies fan.
solid pick up. garcia would be a nice fit for the 5th spot in the rotation and has good career numbers against boston. out of all the starters we’ve signed, he makes the most sense.
I don’t think this is a great move for the Yanks at all. As mentioned, Garcia has nothing but mediocre stats at best. Counting on him or Colon just isn’t going to work.
What the Yankees should have done is sign Webb for a low risk/high reward.