Philadelphia Phillies: Affordable Rotation Options in Free Agency

Jaime Garcia

It seems like Jaime Garcia has been a journeyman pitcher for a couple of seasons, but that might be because he pitched for three different teams in 2017. In the 2016 offseason, the St. Loius Cardinals traded Garcia to the Braves. Then after an average first half with Atlanta, he was traded to the Twins. Last, the Yankees acquired Garcia after just one start in Minnesota.

Now Garcia heads into his first offseason as a free agent, he may look to sign a long-term deal after his strenuous 2017 season. Garcia could give the Phillies something they haven’t had in their rotation for some, a decent left-handed starter.

Over the course of his career, Garcia has shown flashes of potential. In his rookie season, he finished 13-7 with a remarkable 2.70 ERA. But for the most part in his career, he has been a slightly above average pitcher. For he career, he’s posted 3.69 ERA and averaged around 117 innings per season.

Garcia could be the perfect complimentary piece to offset Nola and Eickhoff at the top of a young and growing rotation. Even if he wants a long-term contract he shouldn’t be asking for more than about 12 million. And given the Phillies low payroll heading into the offseason, I’m sure Klentak would think about giving the lefty a 4 year 48 million dollar deal.