What to do with Freddy Garcia?
Posted by: Chad Jennings - Posted in Misc on Oct 22, 2011 
Print This Post
| 
Email This Post
Deep in a lengthy series of notes from Jon Heyman is this little nugget about Freddy Garcia.
Garcia enjoyed his time with the Yankees and would like to come back. A cut finger and six-man rotation cost him about five starts, so he finished with 25 starts and missed out on $1.75 million in bonuses ($750,000 for 28 starts, $1 million for 30).He did a nice job, and Yankees people liked him.
Garcia’s an easy guy to like. Of course his stuff has diminished with age, but he showed last year that he can be effective — and occasionally outstanding — without the big fastball he had when he was in his 20s. Garcia was a great find for Brian Cashman, and I can’t imagine the Yankees would have been upset to give the man an extra $1.75 million.
Whether to bring him back next year probably depends on the contract (for the Yankees) and the opportunity (for Garcia).
Given all of the young pitching talent, a one-year deal with a guy like Garcia could make a lot of sense for the Yankees. They don’t necessarily want to commit long-term to a back-of-the-rotation starter, but someone like Garcia would provide short-term insurance without disrupting long-term plans.
That said, it would be hard to blame Garcia for wanting to be more than a fifth-starter insurance policy. With CC Sabathia, A.J. Burnett, Phil Hughes and Ivan Nova, the Yankees already have four-fifths of their rotation — probably — accounted for. Obviously that could change because of trade or performance or injury, but for now those are in place, and the Yankees could add another starter from the free agent or trade market. Did Garcia do enough this year that he could find a better opportunity and a bigger payday elsewhere?
Associated Press photo
He could get an offer from a team in a similar position as us, that is, ready to win, and with enough of a staff to make him a 5th starter or insurance.
I don’t see many outbidding us. He seems to have found his niche here unless he thinks otherwise.
I would love it if the Yankees could find a way to bring Garcia back.
But, I also see other teams maybe having interest, so I hope Garcia chooses to stay if there is an offer from NY.
By the way, that is a great picture of Freddy, Chad.
Freddy was a good get for the 2011 team. No surprise if he’s strongly in the mix for a No. 5 starter. Pitches with smarts and veteran experience. Look at his quality starts vs. Burnett.
I see a pitcher who has no ability to pitch in the post season anymore .
I see a pitcher who is a #6 starter .
Garcia was a valuable addition on the mound and in the clubhouse. He took Nova under his wing, and the results were positive for Nova. Bring him back for one year and a team or mutual option for a second year.
This a response from the last post:
Against all Odds
Resign Freddie G., Bring Noesi out of camp in the rotation.
Give Joba a shot.
Above all be patient. A decent situation could present itself to obtain a quality pitcher.
We certainly haves the pieces to make a trade.
Darvish is no guarantee to upgrade our rotation.
I see a poster who is a troll and ignoramus.
Red Rectum rides again
Freddy is a swing man. If there is anyone better like Noesi or a FA, then he is insurance or a 5th man.
The fact that he got a start in the PS, as a #3 no less, indicates that we were operating at less than optimum strength. I think they know that and will go after a Buerhle type which should be an upgrade.
The NY Times link one of the others posted about Japanese baseball.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10.....ref=sports
Red Robin October 22nd, 2011 at 6:00 pm
I see a pitcher who has no ability to pitch in the post season anymore .
I see a pitcher who is a #6 starter .
——————————————————————
I see a pitcher that would be a #3 on the RS.
I see a pitcher that would be a #3 on the RS.
=============================
I see a bidding war.
Didn’t Garcia earn another 1 yr contract? He was our #3. Perfect fit.
@red robin. Don’t rewrite history or anything. Not like he got shelled vs Det.
This is a guy who was our #3. A veteran stabilizer. We could def use him back
Freddy wasn’t a real 3.
Hughes and AJ should have been ahead of him.
RhapsodyInBlue October 22nd, 2011 at 6:11 pm
The NY Times link one of the others posted about Japanese baseball.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10…..ref=sports
—
But Yu’s ERA is still similar to his previous 4 years. In fact, since the Japanese ball this year is supposed to be more similar to the American baseball, it makes me feel better about a Yu transition.
The Yanks are already hugely popular in Japan.
The bottom line on Darvish is whether the front office believes he’s worth the enormous cash it will take to get him because he’ll help this team win ballgames.
Getting a bigger piece of the Japanese market pie is more or less a bonus than anything else.
i think the Yankees need to have a serious conversation about putting Hughes in the bullpen or trade him.
True he is not a guarantee we have seen hyped up pitchers stumble before. I’d like to see Joba get a shot but that won’t happen. I guess it depends on if the Yankees feel they can roll the dice for another yr. Do they have faith in Rothschild to get the most out of the rotation like he did in 2011
Yu Darvish is incomparable to Kei Igawa. The Yankees did not even scout Kei Igawa. They knew very little about him and literally posted for him because they lost out on Dice-k. Thats embarrassing. They shouldn’t let it affect their approach to other players. It would be like not signing CC or Teixeira because of Giambi, or not drafting X because Brien Taylor busted.
The thing with Darvish is the posting fee. You get one shot, in a silent auction. So, if you want him, you have to bid large. Plus, that amount will influence the salary.
I would def. try to bring back either Garcia or Colon. I would have no problem offering a higher $ figure for one year. What happens with the other guy would depend on whether you get Darvish.
This is one where the scouts should have an awful lot of input. Boy, would I like to have been the fly on the wall during the scouting meetings just held.
You can’t say Igawa incomparable to Darvish. Name me one Japanese pitcher whose had a long period of success. The closest is Nomo and his decline was quite dramatic IIRC. Even when Matsuzaka was “good” he was walking the park.
Darvish has the age factor in his favor….I still think the Yanks will be taking CJ Wilson for a road test at some point……
Didn’t the Yankees scot Dice K? They really wanted the guy and how did he turn out?
Or is Dice K incomparable as well?
You know what’s incomparable? Comparing them going after a PROVEN major leaguer in Tex and CC and comparing them going after an unknown pitcher in Darvish
Didn’t the Yankees scot Dice K? They really wanted the guy and how did he turn out?
–
Injury prone, but any player can be injury prone. He still put up a 2 era (no matter how lucky) in MLB for a season. And he struck out a lot of hitters. I think if Matsuzaka wasn’t on the red sox with their draconian shoulder program he would have done better overall.
And I am not comparing Darvish to CC or Tex, I am saying you can’t use a situation like Igawa to scare you off a better player. The Yankees didn’t balk at signing Tex because of what happened with Giambi.
They certainly should not sign CJ Wilson if you want to use past comps. Over 30 with control issues, AJ burnett hellooo
How useful is limiting yourself to “proven” major leaguers when those players lose those abilities that made them proven so quickly?
The Yankees have gotten one year of the proven players they signed in AJ and Tex and neither of those guys are not getting any younger.
raymagnetic…..Darvish is at least a 100 million investment, and although some of the guys I know and have spoken to say he’s for real ( as does Face ), the question is will he adjust to the Bigs in one season and stay healthy adjusting to throwing every 5th day ???? It is at least 100 million and that’s a lot of dough, but the video I’ve watched, the boy does chuck it with a purpose…
Speaking to Motte, “You look like a closer you got the beard.” -Rosenthal.
Newsflash Kenny, a beard is not a prerequisite to being a closer, See #42
Going after Darvish or not is dependent on how highly we evaluate him. If we think he can be a #3 or #2 then go for it. It is only money and the posting fee doesn’t count toward the luxury tax. Beyond stuff, Darvish’s age, durability and size all are positives. However, if not, go with Freddy and the kids to fill in the back end of the SP. But again if we think Darvish’s stuff translates, after all we’ve scouted him and its not like we only have rlyw comps to go on, then why not bid what we are comfortable with? You can never have too much pitching.
Garcia is gone….. hes a type B player and collecting draft picks is important to Cashman
Darvish is unique in his results, lack of the typical Japanese deception in his delivery, his height + build, and proven durability.
The previous Japanese pitchers don’t have any compelling comparable to him except for pitching in Japan.
The Yankees have also significantly improved their scouting and process in Japan since the Dice/Igawa winter.
hes a type B player and collecting draft picks is important to Cashman
–
If this were true he’d actually get some draft picks.
The comp to other Japanese pitchers is kind of pointless.
LGY…….I just don’t get the whole Texeria ragging, the hit 35 plus dingers, drives in and scores over 100 and plays Gold Glove defense……Check those run production numbers vs players in the history of the game since they have arrived on the scene….Yeah his ba is down 3 hits per 100 at bats per month but man without him the Yanks aren’t playing in October……You’ve been pissing on that pole long enough…..
If it’s only money then break the bank. Those days appear to be over.
Surprised Washington didn’t come out to the first base line introduced doing his Funky Chicken. That idiot.
Go Cards!
The yankees werent going to go 3 years without a first baseman, so signing Tex was still the right move in my opinion, but he does need to work on his left handed approach.
Holland should get pounded. Problem is Lohse probably will as well.
Best National Anthem all year, Ronnie Dunn.
Pat,
I’m heading out in a bit so I may not see your reply but the Yankees signed Tex to the 5th largest contract in MLB history. They signed him to be an all around player and one of the best in the game.
Instead of acting as a buffer to the aging part of the offense he has become one of the core problems.
Look at the 1B OPS leaderboard this year:
Miggy: 1.033
Prince: .981
AGon: .957
Votto: .947
Morse: .910
Pujols: .906
Konerko: .906
Tex: .835
Howard: .835
Pena: .819
From what I’ve read Darvish has aunts and uncles in the US, and speaks English, so transition to living in .states might be easier
LGY….No let’s focus on the total player, and further more other than Lou Gehrig and Don Mattingly Texeria is the best first baseman the Yanks have ever had….Moose was real steady and Pepi had some good years but they’ll never be HOF candidates…..
LGY….Give me run production and let’s do the past 3 or 5 or 7 years
“Injury prone, but any player can be injury prone. He still put up a 2 era (no matter how lucky) in MLB for a season. And he struck out a lot of hitters. I think if Matsuzaka wasn’t on the red sox with their draconian shoulder program he would have done better”
He was signed for six seasons and had an ERA over 4 while costing 100 million dollars. One good season isn’t worth 100 mil. I also don’t speculate on what might have been had he not been on their program. You could talk about what might have been with every player in the league had some unforeseen circumstance not happened to them.
“The Yankees have gotten one year of the proven players they signed in AJ and Tex and neither of those guys are not getting any younger.”
AJ Burnett had proven to be a mediocre pitcher his entire career before the Yankees signed him. Not like it’s a surprise he’s been bad since he’s been on the team. Money doesn’t make you a better player. And Tex has put up 30/100 every year while playing GG caliber defense. I’ll take it.
Pat
What does it matter what Tex did before donning the Pinstripes? He has had a very impressive career but that doesn’t help now. The Yankees didn’t reap any benefit from his 2003-2008 production.
This is the whole issue I was pointing out. How long do you get the proven guy you signed?
Thus far, the Yankees are 1 for 3 with Tex.
LGY……His 3 years in The Bronx are disappointing to you ???? I understand that we all love Tino but rae his numbers better than Tex’s including the postseason ??? The days of judging a player year to year went out with Catfish Hunter’s contract…..