Adios, Freddy

Thanks for everything Sweaty Freddy.

General manager Dan Duquette has been known to find diamonds in the rough..Nate McLouth, Wei-Yin Chen, Jason Hammel. O’s fans hoped Freddy would be another. And, Garcia was such a tease. During his debut against the Angels, Garcia allowed two ER and three hits in 6 2/3 innings, bringing a no-hitter into the 7^th inning. He had another stellar start against the Washington Nationals at the end of May, going eight innings allowing no runs on just three hits.

But more often, we’ve seen his lows. For example, what may be his final game as an Oriole Sunday in Toronto, when he allowed a season worst seven runs and seven hits in less than three innings.

In 11 games for the Orioles, the 36-year old posted a record of 3-5 with a 5.77 ERA. On Monday, the Orioles designated Garcia for assignment. He now has the choice to accept his demotion to AAA-Norfolk or refuse it and become a free agent.

MLB.com’s Brittany Ghiroli tweeted that Garcia will take some time off at his home in Miami before he makes his decision. Ghiroli also reported that Garcia hasn’t ruled out a return to AAA Norfolk, which leaves the door open for possibly returning to the big leagues later in the season.

The Orioles picked Garcia out of the scrap heap after the San Diego Padres released him during spring training. They knew they wouldn’t be getting the 2006 version of Garcia who won 17 games for the Chicago White Sox. They were just hoping for a veteran pitcher who could hold a spot in a young rotation.

However, the Orioles ended up with someone who did his best impersonation of a batting practice pitcher. According to SB Nation, Garcia had the highest ratio in Major League Baseball of HR’s allowed per nine innings at 2.72

Garcia’s demotion has allowed rookie pitcher Kevin Gausman his second big league stint.

Now this may be the last we ever see of Freddy, but I’m hoping he reports to Norfolk, straightens out his stuff and we see him out of the bullpen down the stretch.

The Orioles like to make moves to their farm systems and get fresh arms every few weeks; this should be a good sign for Garcia. All it takes is some discomfort throwing from 120 feet for Garcia to potentially get another chance.

Garcia didn’t have many takers before being signed by the Orioles so he would be foolish not to accept his demotion, because after his recent outings, no one will be making a call to him.

There’s really only thing left to speculate on about Garcia: if Chris Davis participates in the Home Run Derby, will he let Sweaty Freddy pitch to him?