The New York Mets designated right-handed pitcher Justin Garza for assignment over the weekend amid a major roster move.

Garza went to waivers where he passed through unclaimed, giving the Mets the opportunity to keep him in the organization.

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New York sent him outright to Triple-A Syracuse, however, since he had already been outrighted in his career, he had the right to reject the assignment in lieu of free agency. He did just that.

Garza, 31, is now a free agent after being acquired by the Mets in June from the San Francisco Giants.

The right-hander appeared in five games with New York at the big league level, accruing a 5.40 ERA over 6.2 innings. Garza was much worse at Triple-A Syracuse, sporting a 7.86 ERA across 26.1 innings.

The Mets acquired Garza after he spent the last season and a half in the Giants organization. Garza never received an MLB call up with San Francisco, and had a 6.11 ERA at Triple-A Sacramento before the deal.

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Garza wasn’t able to figure things out in New York, and will now look for his next opportunity elsewhere.

Justin Garza Career

Garza was initially drafted by Cleveland in the 26th round of the 2012 MLB Draft. However, he elected to go to school, and the move paid off, as he was drafted again by Cleveland in 2015, this time in the eighth round.

The Glendora, CA native debuted with Cleveland in 2021, pitching 28.2 innings to the tune of a 4.71 ERA. He spent the entire 2022 season in the minor leagues before signing with the Los Angeles Angels ahead of the 2023 season.

In April 2023, he was designated for assignment without a big league appearance for the Angels. He was claimed off waivers by the Boston Red Sox, and made 17 big league appearances, finishing with a 7.36 ERA over 18.1 innings.

Overall, Garza has appeared in 43 games at the MLB level, sporting a 5.70 ERA with 49 strikeouts in 53.2 innings. He has four pitches in his arsenal, mainly relying on a cutter and four-seam fastball while also mixing in a slider and split finger. The Mets had him throwing his cutter way more than in the past.

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As for the fastball, Garza’s four-seamer averages 96.1 mph, which is something that teams have appeared to want to take a chance on. However, he’ll need to work on getting strikeouts and avoiding hard contact if he wants to stick at the MLB level.

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