The Washington Nationals signed free-agent right-hander Rico Garcia to a minor-league deal on Wednesday, and he will report to Triple-A Rochester. Garcia chose free agency on Tuesday after declining an outright assignment from the Oakland Athletics to go to Triple-A Las Vegas. The 29-year-old reliever quickly finds a new home but will have to prove himself in the minors first before he gets a shot with the rebuilding Nationals. He pitched in just 8 2/3 innings for the A's in 2023 and allowed eight earned runs on 13 hits (four homers) while walking five and striking out six. Garcia hasn't found any success in the big leagues to this point, as he currently has a 6.89 ERA (7.70 FIP), 1.84 WHIP, 17 walks and 17 strikeouts in 32 2/3 frames over 27 appearances (one start).
Colorado Rockies starting pitcher Rico Garcia has been recalled to make the start against the Boston Red Sox on Tuesday. Garcia is posting a 4.23 ERA with a 123/44 K/BB ratio in 123 1/3 innings in the minors this season. He seems like he has potential to be a successful pitcher in the majors. However, he's a risky streaming option while pitching in Coors Field against the Red Sox offense.
The Colorado Rockies are calling up pitching prospect Rico Garcia to make his major league debut on Tuesday against the Red Sox, according to a source. Garcia is the team's No. 20 prospect, per MLB Pipeline. The 25-year-old right-hander has a 4.23 ERA, 1.31 WHIP and 9.6 K/9 in 123 1/3 innings (25 starts) for Double-A Hartford and Triple-A Albuquerque this season. There's some intriguing strikeout upside, but those in mixed leagues can ignore Garcia for however long he's in Colorado's rotation to finish the year. He's obviously one to avoid as a streamer against Boston at Coors Field. Colorado's rotation has been decimated by injuries recently to Jon Gray, Kyle Freeland and German Marquez.
