Deivi García Feeling Confident After Strong Spring Debut

Once a top Yankees pitching prospect, García has posted minor league ERAs above 6.00 the last two years.

Deivi García needs to impress this spring. So far, he’s off to a good start.

Once a consensus top-100 starting pitching prospect, the 23-year-old has fallen on hard times over the last two seasons. But García pitched well in relief on Sunday, throwing two hitless innings while striking out two and walking one in a 7-0 win over the Braves. The righty also reached 97 mph and hit 96 a few times, per The Athletic’s Brendan Kuty.

“I was feeling really good. Excited to show my pitches,” García told the YES Network’s Meredith Marakovits. “I was just trying to stay aggressive and execute those pitches and throw my fastball.”

García made his major league debut for the Yankees as a 21-year-old in 2020, the pandemic-shortened season. While he recorded a 4.98 ERA over six starts – he also made a postseason appearance – García’s early arrival seemingly positioned him for a future with New York’s pitching staff.

However, it’s been all downhill for him since then.

García mostly pitched at Triple-A in 2021, where he recorded a 6.85 ERA over 90.2 innings. Still, he made it back to the majors for two games, only to allow six earned runs over 8.1 innings. García continued to struggle last season, when the Yankees shut him down for two months due to a finger injury and a needed reset. He spent six games at Double-A and 14 at Triple-A before finishing the season with a 6.89 ERA. He never returned to the majors.

A lack of command, mechanical issues and diminished velocity plagued García over that stretch. It was notable when he touched the high-90s on Sunday.

Despite his young age, this was thought to be a make-or-break spring for García. The 40-man roster member was thought to be out of options, which meant he would have been designated for assignment or traded in the likely scenario that he didn’t make New York’s Opening Day roster. However, the New York Post’s Mark W. Sanchez reported that, contrary to public info, García still has an option left, as he did not accrue enough time on a roster last season.

While the option would mean García is not in do or die mode, the Yankees would love to see the kid who previously soared up prospect leaderboards this spring. A spectacular 2018 season, during which García tallied a 2.55 ERA across Single-A, High-A and Double-A, helped him rise up the ranks.

Now García is trying to regain that form.

“It has to do with confidence,” he said through an interpreter. “It’s just having that mentality. Talking about 2018 and trying to emulate what I did then. Like I said, use my fastball. Be consistent with it and just try to execute it.”

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