In a minor move completed prior to the trade deadline, the Rockies acquired right-hander Joe Harvey from the Yankees for minor league left-hander Alfredo Garcia, as per a Yankees media release.
Harvey, 27, was a 19th-round pick for the Yankees in the 2014 draft. The righty has worked as a reliever in 118 of his 124 professional games, while posting some impressive numbers — a 1.96 ERA, 10.3 K/9, and 2.98 K/BB rate over 170 innings in the minors. This performance, in particular some good numbers at Triple-A over the last two years, earned Harvey his first Major League promotion, and he delivered a 4.50 ERA over 10 relief innings for New York this season.
Despite these solid results, Harvey was something of an expendable piece on the Yankees’ depth chart, and opted to move him for a younger arm with perhaps more long-term upside. Garcia, who just celebrated his 20th birthday on July 22, has a 4.85 ERA, 8.6 K/9, and 2.58 K/BB rate over 200 1/3 minor league innings, none above the A-ball level. Originally signed for a $1MM bonus at the start of the 2016-17 international signing period, Garcia has worked as a starter in 38 of his 42 games in the Rockies’ farm system.
