Freddy Garcia Released by New York Mets

Prior to the season, the New York Mets signed free agents starting pitcher Freddy Garcia to a minor league contract. The team hoped that Garcia could regain his form and eventually make his way back to the Majors. Those hopes are now a thing of the past after the Mets decided to release Garcia on Tuesday.

On Monday, Garcia sealed his fate with a poor pitching performance for Triple-A Buffalo. In five innings, he gave up seven hits and seven earned runs. That start gave him a record of 0-2 in the minor leagues with a 8.18 ERA.

Garcia had a lot of money on the line ($1.5 million to be exact) to make the Mets roster. But after getting pounded in the minors, it was clear the native of Venezuela wasn’t close to making the jump.

Breaking into Major League Baseball with the Seattle Mariners, the 6-foot-4, 260-pound righty quickly became one of the best young pitchers in the league. As a rookie in 1999, he had a record of 17-8. His best season was in 2001 with the Mariners when he had a 18-6 record and a 3.05 ERA.

In 2006 with the Chicago White Sox, Garcia showed he still had some juice. He finished the year 17-9 with a 4.54 ERA in 33 starts. However, after signing with the Philadelphia Phillies for the 2007 season, he has battled with injuries. Over the last two seasons, he has been able to make only 14 starts.

At 32, Garcia will likely be given another shot. However, if he doesn’t show improvement, his career could be over.