Twins Complete Deal For Jaime Garcia, Send Huascar Ynoa To Braves

THE DEAL

After some fits and starts, the Twins finally landed lefthander Jaime Garcia from the Braves along with catcher Anthony Recker for 19-year-old righthander Huascar Ynoa on Monday afternoon.

Garcia—despite mediocre results—represents an upgrade to the Twins rotation as they jockey in a crowded AL wild-card race. After all, they turned to 44-year-old Bartolo Colon for a start against the Yankees last week. Minnesota ranks 26th in the majors in ERA and 27th in WHIP, with its starting rotation ranking just slightly better at 24th overall with a 4.92.

Garcia goes out on a strong note after pitching seven solid innings and hitting a grand slam against the Dodgers on July 21.

BRAVES ACQUIRE
Huascar Ynoa, rhp
Age: 19

The younger brother of White Sox righthander Michael Ynoa, Huascar received an $800,000 bonus from the Twins in 2014. Not nearly as tall as his 6-foot-7 brother, Ynoa is still a strong 6-foot-3, 221-pounds. Ynoa’s best trait is a big fastball that has been up to 96 mph this season. He has a developing slider up to 84 mph and changeup that is a work in progress. If Ynoa can harness his command he could be a starter, but scouts are mixed on whether he starts or relieves going forward. As usual with the Braves, they are gambling on a live arm with a high ceiling but significant risk.

Club	W	L	ERA	G	GS	SV	IP	H	HR	BB	SO
Elizabethton (R)	0	1	5.26	6	6	0	25.2	28	1	14	23

TWINS ACQUIRE
Jaime Garcia, lhp
Age: 31

Garcia’s ERA-plus is right at league average (100) per BaseballReference.com, but that represents an upgrade for an underperforming Twins staff. Garcia, a ground-ball specialist, has a 54.7 percent ground-ball rate this season, in line with his career norms and his average fastball velocity is at 91.5 mph per FanGraphs, the best of his career. Garcia uses a four-pitch mix, and his sinker remains his most effective offering. The Twins reportedly will pay all of the remainder of Garcia’s $12 million salary, about $4.5 million, which helped reduced his acquisition cost.

Club	W	L	ERA	G	GS	CG	SV	IP	H	R	ER	HR	BB	SO
Atlanta (NL)	4	7	4.30	18	18	0	0	113	108	58	54	12	41	85

Anthony Recker, c
Age: 33

Recker, a veteran of big major league seasons with four teams, will reportedly be assigned to Triple-A Rochester or Double-A Chattanooga. He is an up-and-down catcher who can provide depth as the season wears on.