LOS ANGELES — The Twins' pursuit of Jaime Garcia was merely delayed, not derailed. They finally got their new lefthander on Monday.
Minnesota acquired Jaime Garcia, a nine-year veteran with postseason experience, from the Braves along with veteran catcher Anthony Recker and cash, the teams announced. In return the Twins will send 19-year-old righthanded pitcher Huascar Ynoa to Atlanta.
Ynoa, signed as a 16-year-old for $800,000 in 2014, has a 5.26 ERA in six starts for rookie-level Elizabethton this season. He is the brother of White Sox reliever Michael Ynoa, and replaces Nick Burdi, rejected as an injury risk as he recovers from Tommy John surgery, as the Braves' take in the trade.
Garcia is 4-7 with a 4.30 ERA for Atlanta this season, but has won his last two starts, limiting the Diamondbacks to one run on four hits over seven innings, and the Dodgers to three runs over seven innings last Friday. Garcia will join his new team in Dodger Stadium this week and could pitch as soon as Wednesday.
Recker, a 33-year-old veteran of seven major league seasons with four teams, is batting .223 with four home runs in 41 games for Class AAA Gwinnett this season. He is expected to be assigned to either Class AAA Rochester or AA Chattanooga by the Twins.
The Twins will make a corresponding move to clear space on their 40-man roster for Garcia sometime Monday. They will open a spot on the 25-man roster when Garcia reports to the team. Garcia could take the rotation spot of Adalberto Mejia, Kyle Gibson or Bartolo Colon, who makes his second start with the Twins tonight against the Dodgers.
