If the Yankees plan on𒁃 shopping Deivi Garcia, any offer they make just got a lot more attractive.
Garcia, the Yankees’ fourth-ranked prospect on MLB.com, struck out 15 batters in all of six innings on Tuesday night, pitching for the Trenton Thunder. He gave up just one hit in a win over the Richmond Flying Squirrels.
“I’ve honestly never seen a pitching performance like that in my minor league career,” outfielder Ben Ruta said, . “He just set the tone. I mean, the guy gets 15 strikeouts in — I don’t know — five or six innings. If you can’t win that game, I don’t know what you can win.”
Garcia punched out the game’s first eight batters, and tied Adam Warren’s franchise record for strikeouts in a game.
“I was working on using more of my slider to finish hitters,” Garcia told The Trentonian through a translator. “The slider helped me tonight a lot.”
At age 20, Garcia would be an attractive trade chip as the Yankees figure to add starting pitching ahead of next month’s deadline. The Yankees have been linked to Madison Bumgarner and, with the combination of trading for Edwin Encarnacion and Giancarlo Stanton and Aaron Judge returning from injury, players like Clint Frazier could be expendable.
If another team wantsꦐ to add a pitcher, though, Garcia may be a draw.