Earlier this week, the Yankees officially gave up on former top prospect, Deivi Garcia, by designating him for assignment. Signed as an international free agent, Garcia showed a lot of promise earlier in his minor-league career, but it didn’t pan out.
He was just picked up by the Chicago White Sox. And, at 24 years old, there’s plenty of time for the right-hander to figure things out. Former MLB catcher and current Foul Territory TV host, Erik Kratz, had some thoughts about this move.
Here’s a snippet of his comments from earlier this week:
"They did him wrong." @ErikKratz31 caught Deivi Garcia's debut, and thinks the Yankees didn't have the right coaching available to him.
▶️ https://t.co/zNsxcuG09J pic.twitter.com/7iY1fro7Mk
— Foul Territory (@FoulTerritoryTV) August 10, 2023
Is this not what many Yankee fans typically have a problem with when it comes to the Bombers’ handling of prospects? It’s important to note that we don’t know the particulars of Garcia’s career arc within the Yankees organization. So, there could’ve been more going on under the surface that nobody else is aware of. It looks like Kratz is just sharing his opinion from what he’s seen unfold over the past few seasons.
Keith Law of The Athletic also mentioned in a chat two years ago that someone screwed with Garcia’s mechanics. The way he presented it made it seem as though someone from outside the organization was responsible. That’s just a guess, though.
Ahead of 2021, multiple outlets pinned Garcia as one of baseball’s top prospects. Baseball America had him at no. 55 and Baseball Prospectus had him at no. 17 (!!). Prior to 2020, MLB.com also pegged him as the game’s 92nd-best prospect.
Just like there are no guarantees in free agency, there are also no guarantees with prospects. Even the “can’t miss” ones miss every so often. Even though we’ve seen this happen lots of times in the past, it doesn’t hurt any less. Let’s hope a change of scenery will help Deivi Garcia harness the potential that lots of evaluators have seen in the past. Even if Chicago’s culture isn’t the best.
You can reach Matt Musico at matt.musico@xlmedia.com. You can follow him on Twitter: @mmusico8.
