5 under-the-radar free agent relievers the Pirates should pursue

Yimi Garcia

Yimi Garcia has been a solid reliever for years now. Of his last eight seasons where he has pitched at least 20 innings, Garcia has an ERA+ of 100 or greater in seven of those years. Garcia opened the 2024 season with the Toronto Blue Jays, and was putting up some very strong numbers leading up to the trade deadline.

Garcia’s first 30 innings of the year saw him record a 2.70 ERA, 2.67 FIP, and 0.80 WHIP. The veteran right-hander struck out well over a third of his opponents with a 36.5% K%, and he was also great at limiting walks with a 7% BB%. Garcia was not prone to the long ball either, with a HR/9 of only 0.90. Some may have been skeptical of his numbers, given his abnormally low .217 batting average on balls in play despite a rather mediocre 88.8 MPH exit velocity and 11.1% barrel rate, but ERA estimators like SIERA (2.36) and xFIP (3.05) still put Garcia in a positive light.

Although Garcia started the year on quite the high note, he would not end the season in a similar, spectacular fashion. Garcia was dealt to the Seattle Mariners at the trade deadline. He pitched just nine innings with Seattle and allowed six earned runs before landing on the IL with elbow inflammation in late August. He did not return to the mound again after that.

While Garcia did not get to end the season the way he likely would have wanted to, he’d still be a decent arm for the Pirates to slot in their bullpen. Garcia has typically been a solid reliever, year in and year out. He also has experience in late-inning/higher-leverage.