Ralph Garza

Red Sox Select Travis Shaw, Hansel Robles; Designate Eduard Bazardo, Ralph Garza Jr. For Assignment

By Anthony Franco and James Hicks | April 7, 2022 at 11:48am CDT

The Red Sox announced a flurry of moves this morning, selecting the contracts of a pair of veterans — 32-year-old infielder Travis Shaw and 31-year-old reliever Hansel Robles — and designating right-handers Eduard Bazardo and Ralph Garza Jr. for assignment. They also optioned righty Tyler Danish to Triple-A Worcester and placed left-hander Josh Taylor on the 10-day IL with a lower back strain.

Both Shaw and Robles spent the end of last season on the Red Sox’s roster. The former arrived via waiver claim from the Brewers, returning to the place where he spent the first two years of his big league career. Shaw was a productive power bat for the Brew Crew between 2017-18, combining for 63 home runs. He hasn’t hit well lately, posting below-average numbers in each of the past three seasons as his strikeout rate has jumped. In 250 plate appearances last season, he hit .200/.286/.373 (although he did do well in a very tiny sample upon landing in Boston).

Robles locks in a $2.25MM base salary by making the Opening Day roster. Acquired from the Twins at the trade deadline, he settled into the mid-late innings down the stretch for Alex Cora. Robles had an ERA pushing 5.00 in Minnesota, but he managed a capable 3.60 mark in 25 innings with the Sox. Robles averages nearly 97 MPH on his heater and punched out a slightly above-average 25.6% of batters faced, albeit with spotty control.

Garza has already been claimed off waivers by the division-rival Rays. Bazardo seems likely to follow him to the waiver wire. The 26-year-old made his big league debut last season, tossing three innings over two relief appearances. The Venezuela native averaged nearly 95 MPH on his heater, but he was tagged for an 8.74 ERA in 11 Triple-A appearances. He owns a strong minor league track record up through Double-A and still has a pair of minor league options remaining.

Red Sox Claim Ralph Garza, Designate Kyle Tyler

By Mark Polishuk | March 24, 2022 at 1:37pm CDT

The Red Sox announced that right-hander Ralph Garza has been claimed off waivers from the Twins. To create roster space, righty Kyle Tyler has been designated for assignment.

Minnesota designated Garza earlier this week when the Carlos Correa signing became official, thus necessitating the Twins’ need for a 40-man roster spot. Garza was a waiver pickup himself last August, coming to the Twins after being DFA’ed by the Astros.

A 26th-round selection for the Astros in the 2015 draft, Garza spent his first six pro seasons in Houston’s organization, and thus Boston manager (and former Astros bench coach) Alex Cora undoubtedly has at least some familiarity with the right-hander’s work. Garza has a 3.72 ERA and 24.38% strikeout rate over 339 career innings in the minors, and delivered roughly those same numbers over his 132 frames at Triple-A.

Garza made his big league debut last season, delivering a 3.56 ERA over 30 1/3 combined innings with Houston and Minnesota. While his 22.8% strikeout rate and 11% walk rate were nothing special, Garza’s quality slider drew some attention, as noted by R.J. Anderson of CBS Sports. The Red Sox have already optioned Garza to Triple-A, but he represents a fresh arm to be cycled into a bullpen that is long on potential candidates but short on locks to make the roster.

Tyler only just came to Boston two days ago on another waiver claim, as the Angels had designated Tyler to make roster room for Ryan Tepera. The Red Sox could be betting that that can sneak Tyler through waivers again and keep him in their system, though it is also possible that a team who passed last time might put in a claim now, or a team behind the Sox in the waiver order might now get a chance to land the right-hander.

Tyler also made his MLB debut last season, tossing 12 1/3 relief innings over five appearances for Anaheim and posting a 2.92 ERA (despite a matching total of six walks and six strikeouts). Tyler has started 32 of his 60 career games in the minors, making him an interesting possibility for teams looking for a swingman or multi-inning relief type. Over 232 1/3 innings in the Angels’ farm system, Tyler has a 3.25 ERA, 23.2% strikeout rate, and 7.4% walk rate.

Twins Designate Ralph Garza Jr. For Assignment

By Steve Adams | March 22, 2022 at 10:02am CDT

The Twins announced Tuesday that they’ve designated right-hander Ralph Garza Jr. for assignment. His spot on the 40-man roster will go to shortstop Carlos Correa, whose three-year, $105.3MM contract with Minnesota has now been formally announced by the team.

Garza, 28 next month, will cede his spot on the 40-man roster to his former Astros teammate. The 6’2″, 220-pound right-hander was drafted by the Astros in the 26th round back in 2015 and made his Major League debut with the ’Stros in 2021 before joining the Twins via an August waiver claim. He tallied 30 1/3 innings between the two clubs and pitched to a solid 3.56 ERA, albeit it with strikeout, walk and ground-ball rates (22.8%, 11% and 37.3%, respectively) that all checked in worse than those of the league-average reliever.

Garza throws both a sinker and a four-seamer and works with a pair of different arm angles that offer some deception to opponents. He sports a career 3.82 ERA in parts of four seasons in Triple-A, where he’s whiffed 25.9% of his opponents against an 11.3% walk rate. A pure reliever, Garza has a pair of minor league option years remaining, so it’s possible another club will be intrigued by his blend of four pitches, his respectable upper-minors track record and the flexibility of those option years. The Twins will have a week to trade him or place him on outright waivers, at which point any of the other 29 clubs could place a claim.

Twins Place Michael Pineda On 10-Day Injured List

By Mark Polishuk | August 14, 2021 at 7:32pm CDT

The Twins placed right-hander Michael Pineda on the 10-day injured list due to a mild left oblique strain. Right-hander Ralph Garza Jr. was called up from Triple-A to take Pineda’s spot on the active roster.

The injury developed during Pineda’s start against the Rays last night, as Pineda allowed four runs over 2 2/3 innings before leaving the game after a visit on the mound from the team trainer. Speaking with reporters (including Betsy Helfand of the St. Paul Pioneer Press) today, Twins manager Rocco Baldelli said the injury isn’t expected to be serious enough to prevent Pineda from returning to the mound before the season is through.

That’s good news in both the short term and the longer term for Pineda, who can use his remaining starts to further bolster his free agent case for the offseason. The subject of several rumors leading up to the July 30 trade deadline, Pineda ended up staying in Minnesota, which counted as a surprise considering his rental player status and the fact that as of July 26, the Twins had yet to engage the righty’s representatives in negotiations about a contract extension.

It’s been a mixed bag for Pineda in 2021, making him an interesting entry for teams to evaluate on the open market this winter. Pineda has a solid 4.13/4.24 ERA over 85 innings, and he has continued his career-long ability to limit free passes by delivering another excellent (4.8%) walk rate. However, Pineda has also allowed a lot of hard contact and his 20.6% strikeout rate is well below the league average.

Durability is also still a question mark, as Pineda has now made three trips to the injured list this season. (He had a 10-day absence in May after undergoing a procedure to have an abscess removed from his thigh, and he also missed three weeks due to elbow inflammation.) Pineda has missed two full seasons of his pro career due to a shoulder surgery and a Tommy John surgery, and he also missed 60 games spanning the 2019-20 seasons due to a PED suspension. Heading into his age 33 season, Pineda has tossed 354 innings since the start of the 2017 campaign.

Twins Claim Ralph Garza Jr.

By Steve Adams | August 4, 2021 at 1:30pm CDT

The Twins have claimed right-hander Ralph Garza Jr. off waivers from the Astros, per a club announcement. Garza has been assigned to Triple-A St. Paul for the time being. A corresponding 40-man roster move isn’t necessary, as Minnesota already had an open spot. Their 40-man roster is now full.

Garza was designated for assignment by the Astros over the weekend when they activated Josh James from the 60-day injured list. The 27-year-old Garza made his MLB debut earlier this season, totaling 11 innings out of the Houston bullpen and allowing five runs on 11 hits and seven walks with 14 punchouts. The righty sat at an average of 92.6 mph with his four-seamer and 90.6 mph with his sinker, also logging a 12.4 percent swinging-strike rate and a 30.9 percent opponents’ chase rate.

A 26th-round pick back in 2015, Garza has never ranked among Houston’s top tier of farmhands but has delivered decent results in the upper minors. He’s appeared in parts of four seasons in a very hitter-friendly Triple-A environment, working to a 3.72 ERA with a solid 25.8 percent strikeout rate and an 11.3 percent walk rate he’ll want to improve upon. Garza’s contract was only selected to the MLB roster this season, meaning he can be optioned freely for the remainder of the year and still carry another pair of option years down the road.

Astros Notes: Garza Jr., James, Bregman, Báez, Brantley

By Darragh McDonald | August 1, 2021 at 6:27pm CDT

The Astros have designated Ralph Garza Jr. for assignment, according to Chandler Rome of The Houston Chronicle. Rome speculates that this move is to facilitate the activation of Josh James. Before today’s game, general manager James Click told reporters, including Fox 26’s Mark Berman, that James was close to returning. James has shown flashes of excellent for the club over the past few years, especially his 2018 debut, wherein he threw 23 innings with an ERA of 2.35. But since that time, he’s struggled with both inconsistency and injuries, most notably undergoing hip surgery in October of 2020. The Astros made some additions to their bullpen before Friday’s trade deadline, bringing in Kendall Graveman, Yimi Garcia, Rafael Montero and Phil Maton. Getting James back into the fold could further bolster the relief corps as the team gears up for a pennant race. The club is currently atop the AL West, 5 1/2 games ahead of the Athletics.

As for Garza, he made his major league debut earlier this year and has thrown 11 innings out of Houston’s bullpen, with an ERA of 4.09 and a solid strikeout rate of 28.6%, but a poor walk rate of 14.3%. Although those numbers aren’t excellent, Garza is 27 years old and can be optioned to the minors, meaning he could be of interest to a club that just created some vacancies at the deadline.

Astros Injury Notes: Urquidy, Taylor, Gurriel, Alvarez, McCullers

By Mark Polishuk | May 31, 2021 at 12:58pm CDT

The Astros’ long list of injured pitchers will get a bit shorter today, as Jose Urquidy and Blake Taylor have both been activated from the 10-day injured list. Urquidy will get the start in today’s game against the Red Sox. Right-handers Andre Scrubb and Ralph Garza were optioned to Triple-A to make room for Urquidy and Taylor on the active roster.

Urquidy hit the IL on May 16 due to right shoulder discomfort, though that potentially ominous-sounding diagnosis wasn’t considered too serious. The right-hander will indeed return in pretty short order, and he’ll look to continue what has thus far been a solid 2021 season. Urquidy has a 3.22 ERA and a very strong 5.1% walk rate over 44 2/3 innings, though advanced metrics (such as a 4.58 SIERA) haven’t been as impressed with his work. Urquidy has both a low strikeout rate (18.6%) and grounder rate (28.5%), and he has been relying on a lot of soft contact and some batted-ball luck (.242 BABIP) to retire batters.

Taylor has been out of action since suffering a right ankle sprain on April 17, and he has been on a Triple-A rehab assignment since last week. Taylor made his MLB debut last season, and he has a 3.12 ERA, 18.4% strikeout rate, and 12.3% walk rate over 26 total innings in the big leagues. With Kent Emanuel still on the IL, Brooks Raley has been the only other left-hander in Houston’s bullpen, so Taylor’s return will add some depth in that area.

The lineup will continue to be shorthanded, however, as manager Dusty Baker told reporters (including MLB.com’s Brian McTaggart and The Houston Chronicle’s Chandler Rome) that neither Yuli Gurriel or Yordan Alvarez are available for today’s game, though both are “close” to returning. Alvarez appears to be the nearest of the two, though Baker said he “nixed” the idea of Alvarez in the lineup in order to give the young slugger another day of recovery.

This will make it five games missed for Alvarez due to a wrist problem, while Gurriel is now on track to miss his third game due to inflammation in his left middle finger. Baker did say Gurriel would return at some point during Houston’s four-game series with the Red Sox that begins today.

“It’s a situation where they’re not hurt badly enough where you can put them on ten days and lose them, so you’d rather wait two or three days extra and not lose them for ten,” Baker said.

The Astros still scored 15 runs in the two games without Gurriel and Alvarez in the lineup, though naturally the team would like to have two of its best hitters back as soon as possible. Both players have hit seven home runs this season, with Gurriel hitting .309/.380/.511 in 205 PA and Alvarez hitting .310/.343/.525 over 169 PA.

Baker also told McTaggart and company that he is hopeful Lance McCullers Jr. can be back in the rotation by the “middle of June.” McCullers was placed on the 10-day IL on May 26 due to right shoulder soreness but, like Urquidy, the issue as thought to be pretty minor. McCullers is playing catch in the outfield today, Baker said. Over 51 2/3 innings this season, McCullers has a 2.96 ERA/4.02 SIERA, despite allowing a lot of hard contact.

Astros Shuffle Rotation With Valdez, Odorizzi Set To Return

By Steve Adams | May 26, 2021 at 3:39pm CDT

Astros skipper Dusty Baker announced several changes to his team’s pitching staff during his Wednesday media session, revealing that lefty Framber Valdez will return from the injured list to make his season debut Friday and Jake Odorizzi will be activated to start Saturday’s game (all Twitter links via Jake Kaplan of The Athletic). That’s the good news, but Baker also announced that righty Lance McCullers Jr. is headed to the 10-day IL due to shoulder soreness. The team does not believe the issue to be serious at this point.

The Astros have also selected the contract of right-hander Ralph Garza from Triple-A Sugar Land. Injured righty Josh James was moved from the 10-day IL to the 60-day IL to open a roster spot. Lastly, Baker said right-hander Cristian Javier will be moved to the bullpen to accommodate the returns of Valdez and Odorizzi.

It’s a broad-ranging series of roster moves and role changes that carry significant implications for the Astros’ outlook moving forward. The 27-year-old Valdez broke out as one of the team’s best starters in 2020 and was expected to occupy a key role near the top of the rotation in ’21, but a broken ring finger sustained on a comebacker in Spring Training placed his very season in jeopardy. Valdez opted not to undergo surgery that could have cost him the bulk of the year, and he’ll now return to the mound after missing approximately two months of action.

Valdez stepped up in the wake of Justin Verlander’s injury last year, logging 70 2/3 frames with a 3.57 ERA and even better FIP (2.85) and SIERA (3.23) marks. He fanned a hearty 26.4 percent of his opponents against just a 5.6 percent walk rate — all while inducing grounders at a 60 percent clip that ranked among the game’s best. That combination of missed bats, precise control and grounders is a time-honored recipe for success, and he’ll now look to build on last year’s performance to cement himself as one of the club’s best rotation arms.

Odorizzi, 31, inked a three-year deal with the Astros over the winter (the third of which is a player option that’s unlikely to be exercised but was included as a means of manipulating the luxury tax). He made a pair of starts for the ’Stros earlier this season after a short ramp-up before being placed on the IL with a pronator muscle strain. Those first two outings didn’t go well, but Odorizzi will look to put that pair of outings and an injury-ruined 2020 season with the Twins behind him.

It appears the return of Odorizzi and Valdez will be utilized by the Astros as a means of managing the 24-year-old Javier’s workload. He’s been quite good thus far in 2021, pitching to a 3.14 ERA with a 29.9 percent strikeout rate and a 10.8 percent walk rate. However, the 48 2/3 innings he’s thrown are already just six shy of his entire 2020 total, and there are still more than four months of regular-season play remaining (plus, the Astros hope, additional October ball to be played). A move to the ’pen will allow the ’Stros to more carefully monitor his overall innings count this year.

The role change doesn’t necessarily rule out a return to the rotation later in the season, and based on Javier’s first 103 big league innings, it’d be a shock if the organization didn’t view him as a starter moving forward. He’s pitched to a combined 3.32 ERA with a 27.5 percent strikeout rate and 9.6 percent walk rate through 21 appearances (19 of them starts). With Verlander and Zack Greinke both slated to reach free agency this winter, there could be a fairly straightforward path to rotation work for Javier in 2022 and beyond.

Turning to the other IL moves announced today, the move of James to the 60-day IL is a procedural one that doesn’t really impact his timeline back to the Majors. He’s been out all year while recovering from hip surgery and was said during Spring Training to be targeting a June return. Today’s placement on the 60-day IL merely means that he can’t be activated until May 31, which wasn’t going to happen anyhow.

The departure of McCullers will be felt in the short-term, as he’s logged an excellent 2.96 ERA through his first 51 2/3 frames this year. The right-hander elected to forgo free agency in favor of a five-year, $85MM extension offer from the Astros during Spring Training, and at least to this point, the 27-year-old looks like a pitcher capable of living up to that deal.

Garza, 27, isn’t considered to be among the team’s top-ranked prospects but has tossed 6 2/3 shutout innings in Sugar Land, yielding just a hit and three walks with 11 punchouts along the way. He’s spent parts of four seasons in Triple-A, pitching to a combined 3.80 ERA with a 26.2 percent strikeout rate. He’ll join the club’s bullpen for now.

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