Yankees option pitcher Deivi Garcia to their alternate training site

New York Yankees, Deivi Garcia
Feb 28, 2020; North Port, Florida, USA; New York Yankees starting pitcher Deivi Garcia (83) pitching against the Atlanta Braves during the first inning at CoolToday Park. Mandatory Credit: John David Mercer-USA TODAY Sports

The New York Yankees decided to option right-handed pitcher Deivi Garcia to their alternate training site, after he allowed four runs in 4 2/3 innings of work against the Baltimore Orioles. He pitched better than that line suggests, though.

The 21-year-old will go to the alternate training site for now, but that doesn’t mean that he won’t see the Bronx again this year. In fact, it is not out of the question that he stays in turn and makes his next scheduled start near the weekend.

Another possibility for the New York Yankees is to give his day to fellow pitching prospect Clarke Schmidt. The 24-year-old prospect, the best young pitcher in the Yankees’ system, made his big league debut last night against the O’s.

The Yankees will surely bring him back soon

Unfortunately, things didn’t go so smoothly for him, as he conceded a couple of runs and three hits in 1.1 innings of work, with one walk and one punchout. Schmidt, despite coming from the bullpen last night, is a starting pitcher and came up through the system as such.

Despite the Yankees optioning Garcia, his long-term prospects remain very bright. He may need more seasoning, though, as last season, he dominated Class-A Advanced and Double-A before struggling a little bit in Triple-A.

In all three levels, Garcia ran BB/9 marks north of 4.00, which is a long-term concern. However, in his first start of the 2020 season in the big leagues, against the New York Mets last week, he only allowed an unearned run in six frames, and handed no bases on balls.

Reports from the Yankees’ alternate training site are glowing about Garcia, saying he has improved his command and advanced as a pitcher. His stay in the team’s alternate complex is sure to be short, especially considering that the Yankees have some pitching depth issues that they need to solve.