Freddy Garcia becomes a hot commodity as Twins, Rockies and Reds pursue the free agent- MLB News
Free agent pitcher Freddy Garcia is getting some serious attention from a number of ball clubs. The 36-year-old is an old war horse and has spent 14 seasons in the Majors.
The team at the fore front of the race is said to be Minnesota Twins. They have already added Mike Pelfrey and Kevin Correia to their starting rotation this off-season and have also acquired Vance Worley in a trade with Philadelphia Phillies.
The Twins recently had just a lone name on the starting rotation in Scott Diamond. That has certainly changed recently but the ball clubs seems to be interested in having another experienced name available for the 2013 season.
Freddy spent his 2012 season with the New York Yankees and although he posted a high ERA of 5.20, he did well in striking out batters and posted a 7-6 inning record in 30 games, 17 of them as a starting pitcher.
His career numbers are also quite impressive with 152-101 winning record and a 4.15 ERA. He has struck out 1575 batters in a total of 2183 career innings pitched in the Major League.
The Colorado Rockies are also another team that is interested in the veteran pitcher. The Rockies were at the bottom of just about every pitching related table in 2012, mainly owing to injuries of experienced pitchers in whose absence youngster with little
experience had to take the mound more often they would have liked. The team ended with their worst record of 64-98 in the franchise history.
In such a case, Garcia could be a useful addition. The club has already signed Jeff Francis for the opening rotation and also has some other good names such as Jhoulys Chacin, Juan Nicasio and Jorge De La Rosa, who will all be returning from injuries.
The high strike outs that Freddy gets are good for the Rockies playing at Coors Field but he also had had a propensity of getting hit long which can be a problem. The high altitude at the Coors Field means that balls travel further and fly balls can carry
all the way for home-runs.
They already have had a bad experience in 2012 with Jeremy Guthrie who was acquired in a trade with the Baltimore Orioles. He had torrid time with the Rockies and was traded to the Kansas City Royals where he performed quite well and inked in a lucrative
three-year deal.
The Cincinnati Reds are also considering Garcia though in presence of a strong and settled starting rotation, they may add him as a relief pitcher in 2013. In case one of the pitchers is unable to deliver, Garcia can very easily fill in the shoes.
It would be interesting to see how things go for Freddy Garcia and who finally bags him. Having more than one team looking to add you in to their ranks is never a bad thing and Freddy can certainly cash in on the situation.
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