Freddy Garcia

2013

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2012

Garcia paired with Bartolo Colon to stabilize the Yankees' rotation in 2011, going 12-8 with a 3.62 ERA and a 1.343 WHIP. While Garcia doesn't have anywhere close to the velocity he once did, striking out just 96 batters in 2011, he's developed an offspeed arsenal that could line him up for similar success in 2012. The Yankees are clearly committed to keeping Garcia around, signing him to a $4.5 million contract in the offseason. Although he wasn't a disaster at home (3.98 ERA, 1.410 WHIP), the results away from Yankee Stadium (3.27 ERA, 1.278 WHIP) suggest that streaming him in road starts may be the best approach.

2011

2010 was Garcia's first full season since having reconstructive shoulder surgery at the end of the 2007 campaign. He threw 157 innings but his back began to give way in September. He had nine wins before the All-Star break, but those were accompanied by a mediocre 60:29 K:BB ratio. He only notched three more wins after the break, and he posted a not-so-flattering 1.376 WHIP in 157 innings. It's unlikely the White Sox will bring him back, so Garcia will be forced to fill the back end of a rotation elsewhere.

2010

After only throwing 73 MLB innings between 2007-08, Garcia proved himself to be a reliable back-of-the-rotation guy over the final month of 2009. Take away a shaky debut, and he posted a 3.83 ERA, .250 BAA and threw 65 percent of his pitches for strikes. His velocity seems to have gone kaput since the shoulder surgery, but he relied increasingly on his changeup and slider in place of a high-80s fastball.

2009

Garcia opted to wait to sign with a club last season until after he recovered from shoulder surgery rather than signing and rehabbing with a club as most injured pitchers do. Garcia was ready to pitch by late summer and signed on with the Tigers. He came back throwing in the mid-80s which is about where he was before surgery. Garcia made three starts for Detroit before some neck stiffness shut him down for the season. He'll try to win a spot at the back end of the Mets' rotation this spring, but may first need to build his strength back in the minors for a few weeks.

2008

Thought to be the missing piece for the rotation, Garcia went 1-5 with a 5.90 ERA in 11 starts before finally succumbing to right shoulder pain. He made his final start as a Phillie in June and had surgery in late August after rehabilitation didn't work. From his first appearance with the Phillies in spring training, Garcia clearly wasn't the same pitcher who won at least 16 games four times in his first eight seasons. He opened the year on the disabled list with biceps tendinitis and was simply damaged goods all year. The Phillies have no interest in brining him back for spring training after getting one win out of him for $10 million last season.

2007

Garcia had nothing to apologize for as a member of the White Sox, pitching every fifth game and keeping the team in most of them. He was 40-21 and moved his stretch of 200-inning seasons to seven straight. He won 17 games, third-best in the majors, and was among the American League leaders with an average of just two walks per nine innings. His strikeout rate isn't what it once was and he allowed a career-high 32 home runs in 2006. A fly-ball pitcher, Garcia may continue to struggle with the long ball after being traded to Philadelphia in exchange for Gavin Floyd and Gio Gonzalez.

2006

No longer asked to be an ace as he was in Seattle, and without the weight of being the big prize in the Randy Johnson deal on his shoulders, Garcia has settled in as just one middle of the rotation arm among many in Chicago. His strikeouts per nine innings continues to fluctuate (5.79 in '05, down from 7.89 after a 6.44 in 2003), though it's hard to say if that's a product of pitching coach Don Cooper's tutelage or something to worry about. A collapse seems just as likely as a breakout.

2005

Garcia turned his won-loss record around once he joined the White Sox, but gave up a lot more runs thanks to an increased home run rate. It's probably no fluke -- he's a fly ball pitcher who's traded Safeco for a much less forgiving home park. It might be too much to expect him to get his ERA below 4.00 in a Chicago uniform.

2004

Garcia's roller-coaster 2003 season was a disappointment to all involved. At times he looked like an All-Star (2.05 ERA in June, 1.97 ERA in September) and other times he looked destined for the bullpen (7.22 ERA in May, 9.45 ERA in July). Which Garcia will show up in 2004 is anyone's guess. He has the physical tools, but mentally he seems fragile. On the plus side, he'll probably be available late, so drafting him won't be a major gamble. And if he has a solid April, you can deal him before he implodes.

2003

Garcia's 2001 and 2002 seasons were almost mirror images of each other. His win totals were in the late teens, he started 30-plus games and had a good strikeout ratio. However in 2002, Garcia gave up almost twice as many home runs as he did the year prior, which was the main reason why he saw his ERA go from 3.05 to 4.39. During the season he may have been tipping his pitches, so Garcia will work on that problem this winter.