Nationals sign former SF Giants, Athletics reliever to minor-league deal

Former SF Giants and Oakland Athletics right-handed pitcher Rico Garcia inked a minor-league contract with the Washington Nationals on Wednesday.

Marc Delucchi | Jul 12, 2023

Nationals sign former SF Giants, Athletics reliever to minor-league deal /

In this story:

The Washington Nationals have agreed to a minor-league contract with right-handed pitcher Rico Garcia. Garcia has previously appeared in the major leagues with the Colorado Rockies, SF Giants, Baltimore Orioles, and Oakland Athletics. The deal was first reported by Jessica Kleinschmidt, who added that Garcia will be assigned to the National Triple-A Rochester.

Oakland Athletics starting pitcher Rico Garcia pitches in the fifth inning against the Detroit Tigers at Comerica Park. (2023) — A's RHP Rico Garcia pitches in the fifth inning against the Detroit Tigers. (2023) / Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports

A Honolulu, Hawai'i native, Garcia was drafted in the 30th round by the Rockies back in the 2016 MLB Draft out of Hawaii Pacific University. Garcia had consistent success as a starting pitcher in the minor leagues and made his big-league debut in Colorado during the 2019 season.

The Rockies designated Garcia for assignment, and he was claimed off waivers by the Giants. San Francisco shifted Garcia to the bullpen, and his fastball began flashing mid-90s velocity and seemed to give him an avenue to becoming a top setup arm. In the years since, though, he has never been able to put it all together in the majors.

In the pandemic-shortened 2020 season, Garcia made 12 appearances with the Giants. He posted a 5.40 ERA with seven strikeouts and four walks in 10 innings pitched. The Giants designated Garcia for assignment following the season and re-signed him on a minor-league contract. However, he underwent season-ending UCL surgery during the subsequent spring training.

Garcia landed with the Orioles in 2022, recording a 1.99 ERA in the minor leagues while making a handful of big-league appearances with Baltimore. Then, once again, he returned to free agency and inked a deal with the Athletics.

Garcia began the season at Triple-A but recently received another promotion to the majors. He appeared in seven games, posting an 8.31 ERA in 8.2 innings pitched with six strikeouts and five walks before he was designated for assignment once again, cleared waivers, rejected an outright assignment to the minors, and became a free agent.

Now, former SF Giants reliever Rico Garcia will head to Rochester in hopes of receiving another opportunity to find a more permanent role in MLB with the Washington Nationals.

Published Jul 12, 2023

MARC DELUCCHI

Marc Delucchi (he/they/she) serves as the Managing Editor at Giants Baseball Insider, leading their SF Giants coverage. As a freelance journalist, he has previously covered the San Francisco Giants at Around the Foghorn and McCovey Chronicles. He also currently contributes to Niners Nation, Golden State of Mind, and Baseball Prospectus. He has previously been featured in several other publications, including SFGate, ProFootballRumors, Niners Wire, GrandStand Central, Call to the Pen, and Just Baseball. Over his journalistic career, Marc has conducted investigations into how one prep baseball player lost a college opportunity during the pandemic (Baseball Prospectus) and the rampant mistreatment of players at the University of Hawaii football program under former head coach Todd Graham (SFGate). He has also broken dozens of news stories around professional baseball, primarily around the SF Giants organization, including the draft signing of Kyle Harrison, injuries and promotions to top prospects like Heliot Ramos, and trade details in the Kris Bryant deal. Marc received a Bachelor's degree from Kenyon College with a major in economics and a minor in Spanish. During his time in college, he conducted a summer research project attempting to predict the future minor-league performance of NCAA hitters, worked as a data analyst for the school's Women's basketball team, and worked as a play-by-play announcer/color commentator for the basketball, baseball, softball, and soccer teams. He also worked as an amateur baseball scout with the Collegiate Baseball Scouting Network (later renamed Evolution Metrix), scouting high school and college players for three draft cycles. For tips and inquiries, feel free to reach out to Marc directly on Twitter or via email (delucchimarc@gmail.com).