In an attempt to rebuild their bullpen, the Houston Astros have traded for the relief pitcher Yimi Garcia from the Miami Marlins. They will send outfield prospect Bryan de la Cruz for the 30-year-old rental player.
Let’s take a closer look at the Yimi Garcia trade right away!
Following the conclusion of the 2021 season, Garcia will become a free agent. Since joining the Marlins at the start of the 2020 season he has been one of their best relievers in the bullpen.
This season hasn’t been too spectacular for Garcia as he has a pitching record of 3-7, the worst of his career thus far, with a 3.47 era. In just 36.1 innings, he has allowed 31 hits and 14 earned runs. His WHIP has been the highest in his career since 2018, with a 1.211. But he has dropped his HR/9 tremendously compared to the last full season he had in 2019.
Garcia does not have a huge repertoire with only 2 pitches. But his fastball is one of the best amongst relievers in the big leagues, just touching 96 mph with 2,500 RPM.
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The Astros Made a Good Trade
The Houston Astros are currently sitting at the top of the American League West with a 63-40 record, and 6 games ahead of the second placed Oakland A’s. Despite their great success this season, their bullpen is one of the worst in the American League and the MLB as well.
Going into Wednesday these are how the Astros bullpen ranks amongst the MLB. They have the 15th worst ERA, with a 4.14. They also are the 9th worst team in terms of total saves this season, Garcia has 15 saves himself for the Marlins.
If Yimi Garcia can get back into his groove and be able to pitch as many people saw early in his stint with the marlins, there’s a good chance that the Astros can bolster their lackluster bullpen and make some strides going into the postseason.
Astros Nearing Deal To Acquire Yimi Garcia https://t.co/o2UzNh69Ao pic.twitter.com/VbBopeME6c
— MLB Trade Rumors (@mlbtraderumors) July 28, 2021
Garcia is not the only reliever that has found his way into the Astros bullpen before the trade deadline. Kendall Graveman and Rafael Montero from the Seattle Mariners are joining him as well.
Graveman was one of the most underrated relievers this season for the Mariners posting an insane 0.82 ERA in 33 innings pitched. Many Mariners fans are upset with their GM for trading away one of the quality arms in their bullpen, especially to the Astros, a division rival.
Rafael Montero has not been great this season, in fact he was more than likely just a consolation prize in the trade for the Astros because his recent play would not do them any favors.
Marlins Might Be in Trouble
After having one of the better starts to the season, the Marlins bullpen have found themselves in another hole. Their poor play at the end of May going into June was the main reason why they found themselves losing so many games and rightfully so. They had run support but were blowing the games when they were put into the game.
Hopefully, this trade won’t hurt the Marlins too much as Garcia had 15 of the 18 saves the Marlins have this season. But I do think that this season might be over for the Marlins even if they are able to get prospects.
Bryan de la Cruz has been great thus far for the Sugar Land Skeeters, the Triple-A affiliate for the Astros this season. He has a .324 batting average, a .880 OPS, and has tallied 141 bases thus far. He has improved every season and the young 24-year-old has a good chance of making some noise for the Marlins in the next few seasons.
