On Sunday, the New York Yankees demoted right-hander Nick Nelson to the alternate site following a loss against Cleveland. The Yankees waited until Monday to announce the corresponding move, promoting right-hander Deivi García to the majors to start in the series-opening game against the Baltimore Orioles on Monday night.
García was greeted rudely by Orioles leadoff man Cedric Mullins, who homered to lead off the bottom of the first. After that, it wasn't a terrible outing. García allowed just two runs on three hits in four innings of work. He was limited to 65 pitches. The three walks were probably the biggest issue here, but he got four strikeouts. The bigger issue was the Yankees' now-punchless offense getting shut down by Matt Harvey.
Immediately after the game, García was sent back to the alternate training site, making this a spot start.
García, 21, entered the spring ranked by CBS Sports as the top prospect in the Yankees system. Here's what we wrote at the time:
García made his big-league debut in 2020, compiling a 4.98 ERA and a 5.50 strikeout-to-walk ratio across six regular season starts. He later became the youngest Yankees pitcher to start a postseason contest since Whitey Ford. That's a nice little beginning to a career, huh? García has the stuff and the athleticism to start -- his curveball is likely to be subject to many GIFs -- but his size is going to be held against him until he's able to string together high-quality outings. García is capable of delivering just that, and for the time being the Yankees seem committed to giving him the opportunity.
He lost a spring competition for the fifth starter's job to Domingo Germán, ensuring that he would open the year at the alternate site. Even when the Yankees optioned Germán for a spell earlier this month, they bypassed García in favor of a Nelson "open," with Michael King then pitching in bulk.
During his time at the alternate site, García altered his grip on his breaking ball to turn it into a slider. "I did want to focus a little bit on my slider," he told reporters, including Kristie Ackert of the New York Daily News. "It's a pitch I like and I've been using and wanted to just get better with it and see what situations in the game I can use it."
García made six starts for the Yankees last season, posting a 4.98 ERA (85 ERA+) and 5.50 strikeout-to-walk ratio in the process. He figures to play a more important role for New York's pitching staff down the stretch, either as a starter or reliever.
The Yankees, 9-13 on the season, now sit in last place in the American League East.
