For all New York Yankees fans, we are no stranger to being fed information about prospects that makes us all believe they are going to be superstars. Remember when Chance Adams was the next great Yankees pitcher? Yes, the same Chance Adam’s that was DFA’d and traded to Kansas City, was once considered a lock to be the next great Yankees pitcher. Let’s also go back to the next great Yankee lefty Justus Sheffield. Sheffield was once the top Yankees pitching prospect, but when New York needed pitching help, they never called him up for a significant look in 2018. Fast-forward a month after the season was over and he was traded for James Paxton. In his first true look at big league action in 2019, Sheffield posted an abysmal 5.50 ERA in seven starts. So the question becomes, is Deivi Garcia the next great Yankees pitcher, or is he just a product of the New York Yankees Hype Machine?
I reported a couple of days ago that Deivi Garcia was not “Untouchable” in Josh Hader talks according to sources close to the situation in Milwaukee. My Twitter was filled with comments about how there’s no chance the Yankees would move Garcia for Hader. I started wondering to myself, “If he’s as good as the fan base says, why is he on the table in trade talks according to the folks in Milwaukee?” I talked with a couple of scouts over the last couple of days to get a better picture on Deivi Garcia the prospect.
Scouts Take on Deivi Garcia
“In all honesty, I don’t understand the hype. I’ve seen him pitch a few times and the stuff just doesn’t grade out to be a top of the line starter. Maybe with time he can develop since he’s really young, but I just don’t see top arm talent when I see him.”
“With the stuff he currently has, he’s projecting to be a back-end starter. I think he could be good at the MLB level, but nothing special.”
Dan Federico also got another take from a scout who called Deivi Garcia “Overrated”. To me, the New York Yankees are tremendous about hyping up their prospects. So much so, that I believe Brian Cashman himself has fallen victim to buying into the hype of his guys. Deivi Garcia is a good prospect, but there are many around the industry who just do not see him as a top of the line starter. If they can move him now when his stock is high for a piece that can help them win a championship next season, they should do it.
Yankees Plans Moving Forward
The Yankees are going to be faced with a decision next year on who to extend between James Paxton and Masahiro Tanaka. They also have Jordan Montgomery coming back off injury to fill in the five spot of the rotation. Let’s say they go with Paxton on the extension and Montgomery has a great bounce-back season, they really only have one rotation spot to fill for the foreseeable future. The Yankees have plenty of internal arms that could fill that last spot of the rotation including: Domingo German, Jonathan Loaisiga, Clarke Schmidt, Albert Abreu, etc. Domingo German is coming off an incredible 2019 where he won 18 games, but his future is cloudy due to his pending suspension. When it comes to the other arms in the minors, one of the scouts I talked to actually likes and prefers Clarke Schmidt to Deivi Garcia.
Everyone is entitled to their opinions, but I believe that if the Yankees can get Josh Hader by including Deivi Garcia in a deal, they should make that deal happen. We are not talking about a Stephen Strasburg or Gerrit Cole type prospect here, as stated above, many scouts only see Garcia as a middle to back of the rotation kind of arm. Josh Hader is arguably the best reliever in all of baseball who the Yankees would have control over for the next four seasons. If the Brewers ask for Miguel Andujar (Who is very expendable) and Deivi Garica for Hader, I think the Yankees should pull the trigger. The time to win is now, it’s time to stop holding onto prospects instead of acquiring impactful MLB talent.