Former SF Giants, Pirates reliever eyeing big-league comeback

Former SF Giants left-handed reliever Jarlín García is seeking a return to MLB after he was sidelined by injury during the 2023 season.

Steven Rissotto | Feb 1, 2024

Former SF Giants, Pirates reliever eyeing big-league comeback /

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Former SF Giants left-handed reliever Jarlín García is eyeing a comeback to the big leagues after missing the entire 2023 season, according to MLB Trade Rumors’ Steve Adams. García, who was physically unable to pitch with a nerve issue in his bicep last season, has not appeared in a big-league game since he was with the Giants in 2022.

SF Giants left-handed reliever Jarlín García throws a pitch. (2022) — SF Giants relief pitcher Jarlin Garcia pitches against the Rockies. (2022) / Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports

A six-year veteran, García became an underrated factor in the Giants bullpen for three seasons from 2020-22 after he was claimed off waivers from the Miami Marlins. During that span, he recorded a 2.84 ERA with a 22.6% strikeout rate and 7% walk rate in 152 innings of work. Only Tyler Rogers fired more innings out of the bullpen than García during his tenure in San Francisco.

Prior to his tenure with the Giants, García had spent his entire professional career with Miami. After jumping straight from Double-A to the majors in 2017, the southpaw established himself as a middle reliever in the Marlins bullpen. He was far from exceptional, but posted a solid 4.29 ERA in 170 innings pitched across three seasons.

Adams also reports that García has recently begun throwing again and has garnered interest from roughly a half-dozen organizations. While he won’t be available in spring training, García’s expected timetable to compete in games again is the beginning of May.

García, 31, signed a one-year, $2.5 million deal with the Pittsburgh Pirates for the 2023 campaign but never appeared in a game with the Bucs after being placed on the 60-day injured list toward the end of spring training. Despite scans returning clear of structural damage, the injury left García unable to properly grip a baseball.

Given his injury, Pittsburgh opted to decline the southpaw’s $3.25 million club option for 2024, making him a free agent in November. With his current health status, it seems likely that Jarlín García will have to settle for a minor-league contract. While it may not be the team's biggest need, a reunion with the SF Giants could make sense for both sides.

Published Feb 1, 2024

STEVEN RISSOTTO

Steven Rissotto (he/him) is an award-winning journalist who currently covers the San Francisco Giants for SFBay.ca and Giants Baseball Insider. At 19-years-old in 2021, he joined SF Bay Media as the Giants beat writer, covering games a few times a week during the Giants’ record-setting 107-win season. Along with his game story coverage he is also the host of RizzoCast, a baseball podcast he founded in 2020 that features interviews with professional and amateur baseball players, coaches, media, fans, and everyone else around the game. Past guests have included Tyler Glasnow, Bob Kendrick, Shawn Estes, Bill Laskey, Renel Brooks Moon, Dave Dravecky, Ned Colletti, Denard Span, Ron Wotus, Joe Maddon, J.T. Snow and more. He is also a co-host with Tylor Hall on the Shutdown Inning Podcast, a show focused on all the latest happenings around the baseball world. Both podcasts are available on YouTube and everywhere podcasts are found. Currently, he is a student at San Francisco State University where he is majoring in Journalism with an emphasis in print/online and minoring in education. At SF State, he is the managing editor for Golden Gate Xpress, the student-run newspaper. He was formerly a member of the newspaper at Skyline College, where he served as editor-in-chief and news editor while also writing sports and features. He was formerly a student-journalist at Archbishop Riordan High School in San Francisco, where he pitched for the baseball team and covered some of the biggest stories in campus history. This includes a new multi-sports facility on campus, the breaking news coverage of Riordan’s coed announcement and the COVID-19 pandemic. Steven is well-respected by his peers and has been honored numerous times by Student Newspapers Online, JEA, ACP, and the California Publishing Association. In 2021, he finished second in the country for Reporter of the Year for ACP among the two-year college schools.