1 high-priced Red Sox free agent the NY Mets could sign, 2 budget options

Bargain Red Sox free agent: Luis Garcia

One of several players named Luis Garcia active last season, this is the one who turns 38 at the end of January. No wonder the Red Sox failed to make the playoffs. Chris Martin, who has a deal with the Texas Rangers as of Monday night, was even older.Their relievers last year could’ve attended the opening of Fenway Park.

Garcia was a rumored Mets trade target last summer while with the Los Angeles Angels. He had been pitching well for the Angeles, owning a 5-1 record and 3.71 ERA in 43.2 innings of work. Far from the same level of household name as Jansen, a strong track record in recent seasons and even some under-the-radar successful ones early on should make him worth at least a look.

There is a big and obvious negative with Garcia. He imploded with the Red Sox. An 8.22 ERA in 15.1 innings wasn’t the trade deadline addition they were hoping to add. Across the board his numbers stunk despite the average exit velocity dropping from 90 mph to 85.8 mph, his hard-hit rate going from 42.4% to 32.8%, and line drives dropping from 24% to 17.2%.

Garcia was the victim of a small sample size and some rough outings in August. Home runs were his Achilles heel for the Red Sox. In Mets terms, he was Ryne Stanek in the regular season where the end results weren’t so good but there wasn’t nearly enough time to know what kind of pitcher he truly could have been given more time.

Garcia shouldn’t cost much at all. After making $4.25 million last year, it’s a good guess his lesser results with the Red Sox have him earning around the same if not less.