The White Sox have considered a few in-house options to fill the void in their starting rotation until Jake Peavy is ready to return from shoulder surgery. Now we can add another familiar face to the list.
Jon Heyman of SI.com reported earlier this afternoon that the club is considering re-signing free agent right-hander Freddy Garcia. White Sox general manager Ken Williams told Scott Merkin of MLB.com that he hasn’t spoken with Garcia recently, nor has the club made a formal offer, but Doug Padilla of ESPN Chicago has confirmed the team’s interest.
Padilla also hears that the Orioles and Yankees are still “considered to be interested” in Garcia, but that isn’t much different than what we heard early last week.
The 34-year-old Garcia went 12-6 with a 4.64 ERA over 28 starts with the White Sox last season. While he reached 157 innings for the first time since 2006, he struck out just 89 batters over 157 innings, averaging a career-low 5.10 K/9. For a guy who gives up nearly as many fly balls as he does grounders, that’s not all that promising.
While securing Garcia as an insurance policy makes some sense for the White Sox, the veteran right-hander would be squeezed out of a rotation spot once Peavy is ready to return, at least on paper. Of course, Garcia is related to White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen by marriage, so his comfort level with the club can’t be discounted.
