Pirates sign former SF Giants reliever Jarlín García to one-year deal
After three largely successful years, former SF Giants reliever Jarlín García's tenure in San Francisco has come to an end. Earlier today, García signed a one-year deal, $2.5 million deal with the Pittsburgh Pirates. The contract includes a club option for 2024 worth $3.25 million. García joins a young Pirates bullpen that has lacked reliable left-handed pitchers.
SF Giants reliever Jarlín García throws a pitch. (2022)
Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports
García comes off of a wildly inconsistent 2022 with jarring month-to-month splits. García started out hot, holding opponents to a .491 OPS in April and March, and then outdoing himself in May, reducing that number to a minuscule .236 OPS.
Unfortunately, a decline in stuff, partially attributable to an extremely overworked bullpen, saw his June and July OPS figures skyrocket to .934 and .981, respectively. He bounced back with a terrific August, striking out 18 while only walking 1, but a middling final month convinced the Giants to non-tender him this offseason.
Despite the inconsistency, García recorded a 3.74 ERA in 65 innings (58 appearances) with 56 strikeouts and 18 walks. Over his three seasons with the Giants, though, he posted a 2.84 ERA across 152 innings.
García holds tremendous potential as a middle-inning lefty reliever in a settled bullpen. Asking him to close the 8th or 9th innings consistently is almost certainly above his pay grade, but there's a reason he was one of five Giants relievers in 2021 to put up an ERA+ of at least 150 in 50 or more innings pitched.
Go back to 2020, in a smaller sample, and you'll find one of the most incredible stats you'll ever see - García recorded an ERA+ of 884, nearly nine times as effective as a league-average reliever. Last year's National League Reliever of the Year, Edwin Diaz - who just signed a $100 million contract - put up a "mere" 297 ERA+ in 2022. That's why even with his intermittent struggles last year, García still finds himself in the top 30 on San Francisco's all-time ERA leaderboard.
If Jarlín García can return his command closer to his form early in his SF Giants tenure, he should be a valuable component of the Pirates' bullpen. Given Pittsburgh's struggles, he could be a possible trade chip come mid-season.
