Yankees steal useful NY Mets player who might’ve been unjustly cut from the roster

Add another name to the growing list of participants who’ve played for the New York Mets and New York Yankees; or at least have him on standby. The Yankees, with some bullpen issues of their own, have added Rico Garcia to their roster via waiver claim. Garcia was recently DFA’d by the Mets in what could be considered an injustice for someone who hadn’t given up a run yet.

In two games and 4.2 innings, only one hit came against the 31-year-old righty in his brief major league stint with the Mets. Despite their continued need for relief pitching assistance, the club felt he was the right player to send to the waiver wire in order to clear a spot for Kodai Senga’s IL return.

The Mets didn’t buy into the brief success Rico Garcia had with them in the majors

Garcia’s big strikeout numbers from last year in Triple-A, fanning batters at a rate of 13 K/9, was one of the big sales pitches to fans as to why he could end up a useful part of this year’s squad. Finishing off two games for them in July in non-save situations is apparently all we’ll get. 

The strikeout totals remained strong yet again this year, reaching 11 K/9 before his promotion. However, Garcia was a far less effective pitcher than last year working as the closer for the Washington Nationals’ Triple-A squad. A 4.45 ERA in 30.1 innings for Syracuse, the home run bug bit Garcia plenty. He gave up 7 for a rate of 2.1 per 9. Add in a 1.54 WHIP due in large part to a walk rate of 5.9 BB/9 and we can understand why a few scoreless innings isn’t close to enough to keep him around.

Over in the Bronx, the Yankees will hope Garcia can continue his scoreless streak and provide them with some immediate bandage until relievers start changing uniforms closer to this year’s trade deadline. The Mets’ bullpen ERA of 3.83 ranks 14th in baseball with the Yankees nearing the bottom third at 4.08. They rank 20th in MLB.

The Yankees will run into some of the same roster constraints as the Mets had with Garcia. No more minor league options left, they may also come to a point where they have to cut Garcia in favor of a more proven player. Whether it’s an injured arm returning, a trade deadline addition, or the club has run their bullpen into the ground, Garcia is in the realm of being an Immaculate Grid favorite for what he does in 2025 alone.

The Mets have had a short leash with several relievers this season. None seemed to be cut shorter than the one they had on Garcia.