Mets Acquire Justin Garza From Giants

The Mets have swung a deal with the Giants to acquire right-hander Justin Garza in exchange for cash considerations, according to Mike Puma of the New York Post. Garza had been on a minor league deal with San Francisco, so no corresponding move will be necessary for the Mets until and unless he’s selected to the 40-man roster.

Garza, 31, has pitched in the majors for parts of two MLB seasons. Selected by Cleveland in the eighth-round of the 2015 draft, he made his big league debut for them in 2021. He ultimately ended up pitching 28 2/3 innings of work for the club in total with roughly league average results. In those 21 appearances, he posted a 4.71 ERA (92 ERA+) and struck out 22.7% of his opponents, but walked 14.1% and allowed more than his fair share of home runs. He was much more effective than that at Triple-A, where he posted a 1.57 ERA in 22 2/3 frames, but even that effectiveness slipped away during a 2022 season where he did not make it to the majors and posted only middling results in the minors.

He split the 2023 season between the Angels and Red Sox organizations and made it back to the big leagues in Boston, but struggled badly in that 17-game stint with a 7.36 ERA. His walk rate was still an elevated 13.7%, but his strikeout rate actually dropped to a well below-average 18.7% while his issues with the long ball persisted. His results at Triple-A were once again lackluster as well, and given his disastrous results his last time in the majors it’s not exactly shocking that he has yet to get another major league opportunity since. While he posted good numbers for the Giants at Triple-A last year, that’s not been the case at all this season with a 6.11 ERA and 5.50 FIP in 17 2/3 at the highest level of the minors this year.

More to come.