With Jonathan Loaisiga returning to the active roster after an arm injury, the New York Yankees were forced to create a spot on their 40-man roster.
They had no choice but to designate former top prospect Deivi Garcia for assignment.
He was placed on waivers, and that’s where the Chicago White Sox claimed him from, according to Yankees insider Erik Boland via Talkin’ Yanks on Twitter.
Deivi Garcia has been claimed off waivers by the White Sox, per @eboland11 pic.twitter.com/UQnwhvur59
— Talkin' Yanks (@TalkinYanks) August 10, 2023
The White Sox have nothing to lose by claiming Garcia.
They are 47-69 this year and won’t go anywhere.
They will do whatever it takes to add young talent to their organization, and despite his recent struggles, Garcia is still only 24.
It seems he is older because he has been around for years: he was the Yankees’ top pitching prospect for the better part of the late-2010s.
After making his debut in 2020 with several impressive starts and a 4.98 ERA, the rest of his career has been a struggle to throw strikes.
He has a big curveball, but could never fully command his fastball or develop a consistent third pitch.
Those things ended up hurting his career significantly.
Last year, the Yankees decided to transition him to the bullpen to see if they could salvage his career.
The results were a little better, but still not good enough to warrant a roster spot over other talented relievers in the system.
In 46 Triple-A innings this year with New York, he handed out 32 walks and had a 5.67 ERA.
His 1.59 ERA in the Bronx this year came in an extremely small sample (5.2 frames) and with lots of control issues (four walks and just three strikeouts).
Chicago is taking a small gamble to see if they can “fix” Garcia.
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