July 11: Garcia has rejected his outright assignment and elected free agency, reports A’s broadcaster Jessica Kleinschmidt (Twitter link).
July 10: The A’s have sent reliever Rico Garcia outright to Triple-A Las Vegas, according to the transaction log at MLB.com. That indicates he went unclaimed on waivers after being designated for assignment on Friday.
Garcia, 29, appeared in seven big league contests with Oakland after they selected his contract in early May. The right-hander has gotten to the highest level in four of the past five seasons. He’s up to 32 2/3 career frames of 6.89 ERA ball. That includes eight runs allowed in 8 2/3 innings with Oakland this year.
While Garcia hasn’t found a ton of MLB success, he’s been effective at the top minor league level. He posted a 2.34 ERA over 34 2/3 Triple-A frames in the Orioles’ system last season. He’s allowing 3.20 earned runs per nine there this year despite pitching in the extremely hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League setting. Garcia has fanned an impressive 29.2% of batters faced for the Aviators, though he’s also handed out free passes at an alarming 18.6% clip.
The Orioles successfully passed Garcia through outright waivers last September. Players with multiple career outrights have the ability to decline the assignment in favor of minor league free agency. The A’s haven’t announced whether Garcia has done so or will stick with Las Vegas as a non-roster player.
