The Astros transferred Garcia (elbow) from the 15-day injured list to the 60-day IL on Monday.
The transaction is merely a procedural move to clear a spot on the 40-man roster for infielder Grae Kessinger, whose contract was selected from Triple-A Sugar Land ahead of Monday's game in Toronto. Garcia will miss the remainder of the 2023 season and likely a large portion of the 2024 campaign after undergoing Tommy John surgery on his right elbow May 19.
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Astros' Luis Garcia: Undergoes Tommy John surgery
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Garcia underwent Tommy John surgery Friday as scheduled.
It was announced earlier this month that Garcia would require the reconstructive elbow procedure and miss the remainder of the 2023 season. Given the usual 14-16 month recovery timeline, he probably won't throw another pitch in a major-league game until at least the 2024 All-Star Game, if not later. The 27-year-old is under Houston's control through 2026.
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Astros' Luis Garcia: Will undergo Tommy John surgery
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The Astros announced Friday that Garcia will undergo Tommy John reconstructive elbow surgery and miss the remainder of the 2023 season.
Garcia ends his season with a 2-2 record, 4.00 ERA and 31:10 K:BB over six starts. The right-hander left Monday's outing against the Giants after just eight pitches, and further evaluation determined that the operation was necessary. The earliest he could rejoin the Astros' rotation is likely next summer. In the meantime, Houston may be scrambling to reinforce the big-league staff, although there is a chance Lance McCullers (forearm) could return within the next month.
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Astros' Luis Garcia: Undergoing further evaluation
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Astros manager Dusty Baker told reporters after Tuesday's game that Garcia's MRI on his right elbow is undergoing further evaluation by doctors, Brian McTaggart of MLB.com reports.
Baker told reporters that they expected to have more clarity on Garcia's status this weekend. The right-hander was placed on the 15-day injured list with discomfort in his right elbow after leaving Monday's start against the Giants just eight pitches in. Garcia is going to miss at least two weeks while recovering, but fantasy GMs will have a better idea on whether this is a long-term injury in the next couple of days.
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Astros' Luis Garcia: No timetable for return
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Astros manager Dusty Baker said Tuesday that Garcia (elbow) is without a timeline to return from the 15-day injured list, Danielle Lerner of the Houston Chronicle reports.
Baker also said that the team doesn't have a plan as of yet for who will replace Garcia in the rotation while he's on the shelf. The Astros won't need a fifth starter until May 9, so it's possible the team will go with a four-man rotation until making a decision. Garcia will be out at least two weeks while dealing with elbow discomfort, and a more concrete timetable should be presented after the results of his MRI are available.
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Astros' Luis Garcia: Placed on injured list
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The Astros placed Garcia on the 15-day injured list Tuesday due to right elbow discomfort, Danielle Lerner of the Houston Chronicle reports.
Garcia was pulled from his last start Monday just eight pitches into the game. The 26-year-old righty is scheduled to undergo an MRI on Tuesday evening, but the team apparently feels his injury is significant enough to warrant a trip to the injured list anyway. Matt Gage was recalled from Triple-A Sugar Land in a corresponding move.
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Astros' Luis Garcia: Headed for further testing
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Garcia is scheduled to undergo an MRI after leaving his start Monday against the Giants in the first inning with a right elbow injury, Danielle Lerner of the Houston Chronicle reports.
Garcia's latest outing lasted only eight pitches, as he was in obvious discomfort early on before he was pulled from the contest. The team should have more information to share on the severity of the injury once his MRI results come in.
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Astros' Luis Garcia: Exits with injury
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Garcia left Monday's start against the Giants due to right elbow discomfort after throwing eight pitches, Danielle Lerner of the Houston Chronicle reports.
Garcia was unable to record an out before the training staff was sent out to the mound. The extent of the injury is unclear at this time, though he's likely headed for further evaluation. Brandon Bielak replaced Garcia and will likely be asked to eat up at least a few innings.
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Astros' Luis Garcia: Blanks Tampa Bay
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Garcia (2-2) earned the win Tuesday, allowing three hits and two walks over six scoreless innings in a 5-0 win over Tampa Bay. He struck out seven.
Garcia hasn't allowed a run over his last two starts, striking out 16 in that span, after starting the year 0-2 with a 7.71 ERA in his first three outings. It certainly appears that his early season struggles are behind him, as the 26-year-old righty lowered his ERA to 4.00 with a 1.26 WHIP and 31:10 K:BB after shutting down the first-place Rays on Tuesday. Garcia will look to keep his scoreless streak going in his next start, tentatively lined up to come next week against the Giants.
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Astros' Luis Garcia: Pitches gem in first win
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Garcia (1-2) earned his first win of the season in Wednesday's 8-1 victory over the Blue Jays, striking out nine over seven scoreless frames while permitting two hits and one walk.
The performance was a welcome sight for fantasy managers after Garcia failed to deliver a quality start in any of his first three outings of the season. The right-hander used his cutter effectively, with 19 of the 23 swinging strikes he generated among his 92 pitches coming on that pitch. The 26-year-old now has a 5.14 ERA, 1.38 WHIP and 24:8 K:BB over 21 innings for the season and is tentatively slated to face Tampa Bay in his next start.
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Astros' Luis Garcia: Tagged with five runs
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Garcia (0-2) allowed five runs on six hits and two walks over five innings Friday, striking out seven and taking a loss against the Rangers.
The Rangers got to Garcia early with Nathaniel Lowe knocking an RBI double in the first inning followed by Adolis Garcia's two-run shot in the third. Lowe knocked in two more runs during the fifth frame. Garcia has now allowed at least three runs in each of his three starts to begin the year, resulting in an unsightly 7.71 ERA across 14 innings. He forced 12 whiffs Friday, including seven with his cutter. Garcia is lined up for a home start against Toronto next week.
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Astros' Luis Garcia: No-decision in Minnesota
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Garcia did not factor into the decision Saturday, allowing four runs on six hits and three walks over four innings in a 9-6 loss to the Twins. He struck out four.
Kyle Farmer touched Garcia up for a three-run home run in the second inning. It goes down as another disappointing outing for Garcia after he allowed three runs on seven hits -- including a homer -- over five innings against the White Sox in his season debut. He's had to change his setup and delivery with the new rules in MLB, but even so, the results have been rather surprising (7.00 ERA, 2.00 WHIP). The right-hander will get time to right the ship.
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Astros' Luis Garcia: Falters in sixth inning
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Garcia (0-1) took the loss Sunday against the White Sox, allowing three runs on seven hits and two walks over five-plus innings. He struck out four.
Garcia allowed just a solo homer through five frames, but he returned for the sixth inning and loaded the bases without recording an out, with two of those runners coming around to score. The right-hander generated 13 swinging strikes but was hit hard at times, giving up five extra-base hits. Garcia will look to rebound his next time out, which tentatively projects to come Saturday at Minnesota.
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Astros' Luis Garcia: Reworks delivery
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Major League Baseball forced Garcia to change his windup this offseason, Brian McTaggart of MLB.com reports.
Garcia used a rocking motion with his arms during his windup in past seasons, but he has been forced to eliminate that as the league institutes a crackdown on deliveries that would be balks according to the letter of the rulebook. As a result, he shortened his windup and made it more compact. Garcia's results in the Cactus League have been positive to this point, as he's allowed only one earned run across five innings while maintaining a 5:1 K:BB.
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Astros' Luis Garcia: Ends regular season on high note
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Garcia (15-8) earned the win Sunday, allowing one run on three hits and one walk over six innings with four strikeouts in a 3-1 win over the Rays.
In what was likely his last appearance of the regular season, Garcia allowed one run over six innings, marking the first time he has thrown consecutive quality starts since June 4. The only damage came via a leadoff double followed by an RBI single in the top of the second inning, as he held the Rays to just two other baserunners on the afternoon. After a breakout campaign in 2021 when he recorded 11 wins with a 3.48 ERA over 155.1 innings, the 25-year-old has followed it up with 15 wins and a 3.72 ERA over 157.1 innings in 2022.
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Astros' Luis Garcia: Starting Tuesday vs. Arizona
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Garcia will start Tuesday's game against the Diamondbacks, Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle reports.
Lance McCullers was scratched from his scheduled start with an illness. While Garcia is making the start as a fill-in, he is well rested, having not pitched since he threw five scoreless innings Sept. 19 in Tampa Bay.
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Astros' Luis Garcia: Available in relief
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Garcia is available out of the bullpen Sunday against the Orioles, Julia Morales of AT&T SportsNet Southwest reports.
He's not scheduled to start any of the Astros' next three games despite having not pitched since last Monday, so it Houston looks to be prepping Garcia for a relief role he may occupy during the postseason. Another quality starter, Hunter Brown, is also working out of this loaded Astros bullpen.
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Astros' Luis Garcia: Status unclear
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Garcia is not listed as a starter for next week's series against the Diamondbacks, Danielle Lerner of the Houston Chronicle reports.
He last pitched Monday, throwing five scoreless frames in Tampa Bay, so Garcia would line up to start either Sunday in Baltimore or in next week's series against the Diamondbacks, so the fact he is not the probable pitcher in any of those three games is a bit of a red flag. It would seem that Garcia is either not 100 percent healthy or that he is just getting a break after totaling 145.1 innings thus far this season. He may also have been moved to the bullpen, and it would not be surprising to see him pitch in relief at some point over the next few days.
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Astros' Luis Garcia: Tosses five scoreless frames
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Garcia (13-8) earned the win over Tampa Bay on Monday, allowing two hits and four walks while striking out four batters over five innings.
Garcia tied a season high by issuing four free passes, but he surrendered only two hits to cancel out the lack of control. The right-hander completed five innings for the 15th straight outing and has thrown less than that only three times over 26 starts this season. Perhaps the only disappointment is that Garcia's wildness resulted in a moderately high pitch count that kept him from going six frames and notching a quality start, which has been a pattern for him of late -- he has only one quality start over his past five appearances. Nonetheless, he's 4-0 over that span while posting a 3.82 ERA and 30:13 K:BB across 33 innings.
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Astros' Luis Garcia: Throws five innings in win
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Garcia (12-8) earned the win Sunday, allowing three runs on eight hits and no walks over five innings against the Angels. He struck out four.
Despite making a couple of mistakes with home runs off the bats of Andrew Velazquez and Shohei Ohtani, Garcia earned the win as the Astros scored 12 runs on the day. The win was his 12th of the season and fourth in his last five starts. Despite the recent wins, Garcia has not been at his best in the second half, as he owns a 4.87 ERA in 46.2 innings since the All-Star break after delivering a 3.65 ERA in the first half.
