Isaiah J. Downing-USA TODAY Sports
No manager, no GM, but plenty of former Colorado pitchers.
The Giants added another ex-Rockie on Tuesday, plucking righty Rico Garcia off waivers for their final 40-man roster spot, ESPN first reported. Garcia, 25, was Colorado’s No. 20 prospect after briefly debuting last season.
The Giants claimed lefty Tyler Anderson from the Rockies last week, trying to deepen a thin pitching staff. The rotation needs a lot of work, with Johnny Cueto and Jeff Samardzija the only two surefire pieces, and Farhan Zaidi offloaded several bullpen members at the trade deadline.
Garcia was a starter with Colorado, though his stuff (low-90s fastball, curveball and changeup) probably would play better out of relief. Last season, Garcia was dominant in Double-A, going 8-2 with a 1.85 ERA while striking out 87 and walking 23 in 68 innings. Then he was promoted to Triple-A Albuquerque — in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League — and was hammered, posting a 6.90 in 13 starts. He debuted in the majors late in the season and surrendered seven runs in six innings.
Garcia, from Hawaii, likely will be another bullpen option, but it’s possible he enters the rotation mix to compete with Tyler Anderson, Tyler Beede, Dereck Rodriguez, Shaun Anderson and Conner Menez for slots.