The Yankees have added starting pitching depth to their roster after Friday's latest addition. New York has signed former Houston Astros World Series champion Luis Garcia to a two-year minor-league deal (h/t Jorge Castillo, ESPN).
Garcia underwent his second Tommy John surgery last October and is still recovering, likely missing all of 2026. In 2025 after returning for just two games after his first elbow surgery, he pitched to a 3.52 ERA with 7 strikes outs in 7 and 2/3 innings pitched.
He was a solid pitcher with the Astros in 2021 and 2022 throwing over 150 innings in each season, winning over 10 games and owning an ERA under 4 during that time. Unfortunately injuries got the best of him as he has seen limited action since 2023.
It's a low risk high reward move if Garcia can make the big league team in 2027 and return to his old form of being a solid starter. In his MLB career Garcia has posted a 29-19 record, 3.60 ERA, 71 games, and 371 strikeouts in 359.2 innings pitched.
Despite lacking top end velocity, Garcia was still able to generate strikeouts and whiffs on the fastball and other pitches like his cutter, changeup and slider. He still quite young at 29 and will be signed for 2027 as he was scheduled to be a free agent.
Garcia won a World Series in 2022 with Houston, contributing to their playoff success. He will continue rehabbing for now with hopes of making an impact for New York in 2027.
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Success may not occur for him right away because all starters need to build back up to game speed and length of starts after not throwing a baseball for an extended amount of time. Because this will be his second elbow surgery, their is no telling what Garcia will look like a year from now but he's still young with upside despite past injury trouble.
The Yankees will hope his past upside can translate into success if his rehab goes smoothly with no setbacks. New York's pitching coach Matt Blake has done a great job during his tenure working with guys who have struggled or have had past success.
The Yankees rotation this season is shaping up to be one of the best in baseball, with the impending returns of Gerrit Cole and Carlos Rodon. Adding pitching depth to potentially contribute in the future is exactly what this move brings.
