While the Atlanta Braves and Minnesota Twins work to finalize a trade involving left-handed starter Jaime Garcia, Braves right-hander Aaron Blair, who was scratched from his start in Triple-A on Friday, is in Los Angeles in the event a trade happens.
Garcia owns a 4.33 ERA, 1.33 WHIP, and 18.2 strikeout percentage in 106 innings this year.
So with that 4.33 ERA Garcia would slot in as the fourth best pitcher on the Twins staff, in between Adalberto Mejia and Hector Santiago.
The trade appeared to be agreed to on Thursday night, but it’s still possible the trade could fall through.
Garcia’s salary for 2017 is $12 million, and he has almost $5 million left to be paid this season.
Garcia would become the second member of the Braves’ first-half rotation to land with the Twins, joining 44-year-old Bartolo Colon, who cleared waivers and signed a minor-league deal with the Twins on July 7.
This also is a type of move that fits in with the Twins roster.
The trade would send a trio of prospects to Atlanta, including starting pitcher. The left-hander has so much movement on his pitches he’s been dominant at times back to his early days in St. Louis, but injuries and inconsistency have kept him short of his potential.
Twins starters have posted a 4.91 cumulative ERA, which ranks 24th in the majors and third-worst in the AL, ahead of only the Baltimore Orioles and Chicago White Sox.
Garcia has made seven postseason starts, including two solid World Series outings (1.80 ERA) in 2011 against Thad Levine’s Texas Rangers. Not incredible, but enough that he could help a team in the hunt like the Twins who are now a half a game back of Cleveland for the division lead.