Pittsburgh Pirates: Strong Interest in Pitcher Jaime Garcia

Rumors: The Pittsburgh Pirates did not have a left hander in their rotation in the 2017 season.  That could change this offseason as they have reported interest in a left-handed starter.

The Pittsburgh Pirates need to upgrade their team for the 2018 season if they hope to be competitive in the 2018 season.  One area that they could look to upgrade would be their starting rotation.  If they add a legitimate, proven arm, it could help deepen this team’s rotation.  The question is whether they will add a legitimate starting pitcher or not.  Also, is it worth adding a starter or upgrading at other positional needs?

Jaime Garcia

Well, according to La Prensa, a Mexican news outlet, the Pittsburgh Pirates are considered the front-runners for starting pitcher Jaime Garcia.  Along with the Pirates, the Brewers and Royals also have interest in the lefty starter.  This would not provide the impact upgrade that the Pittsburgh Pirates would need to make a true difference.  Furthermore, he is not the type of player that the Pittsburgh Pirates fan base would get overly excited to see.  He is another aging pitcher looking to bounce back in his career.  His 2017 season is not one that seems to stand out any better than any of their current options in the rotation.  The only way signing Jaime Garcia would make any real sense was if the Bucs were looking to deal Ivan Nova, but that has not been rumored thus far.

Many fans may remember Garcia when he was a St. Louis Cardinal.  He pitched across eight years for the Cards, but also saw many games missed there due to injuries.  He was very consistent when he did pitch for them, pitching to a 3.57 ERA over those eight seasons.  After the 2016 season, the Cardinals dealt Garcia to the Atlanta Braves.

He quickly became a trade candidate for the Braves, who fell out of contention early in the season.  The Braves traded Garcia to the Twins.  He only made one start for the Twins, who then decided to flip him to the Yankees.  All in all, he pitched to a 4.70 ERA with a 4.25 FIP in total for the 2017 season.  He only struck out about 7.3 batters per nine innings while his BB/9 innings pitched was at 3.67. These are numbers that should not excite anybody going forward.   One positive number is that he produced a ground ball rate of 54 percent this past season.  The Bucs like ground ball pitchers, so this is something that they may like in Garcia.

Next: Early Look at the 2018 Draft

Final Thoughts on Garcia

Still, Garcia does not represent a significant upgrade over any of the Pittsburgh Pirates backend starters.  The only way it makes sense to sign him is if they plan on moving on from Ivan Nova, who is set to make $8.5 million in 2018 and 2019.  If they sign Garcia to a $5 million deal and flip Nova’s remaining $17 million, it could allow the Pirates to allocate money elsewhere for similar production.  However, that is a lot of moving parts to foresee happening at this point.  As of now, it is the first rumor of the Pittsburgh Pirates being in on someone.  The Winter Meetings start at the beginning of next week, so get ready for the rumor mill to starting churning.