Jaime Garcia‘s time in St. Louis has come to an end.
The veteran pitcher has been traded to the Atlanta Braves in exchange for three prospects ranking in the “middle” category. These three prospects are Luke Dykstra, Chris Ellis, and John Gant. Dykstra hit .304 last year at the Class A minor league level within the Braves organization. He is the son of former MLB player and World Series Champion Lenny Dykstra. The elder Dykstra was a three-time All-Star and won the 1986 World Series with the New York Mets.
Ellis and Gant, meanwhile, had moderate success as pitchers during last season.
Both pitchers are 24 years old, while Dykstra is 21.
Last season, Ellis, went a combined 12-11 last year at Triple A and Double A levels.
Garcia has essentially been a liability in St. Louis for the past few years, as the constant injuries took their toll not only on the 30-year old’s production, but the flow of the pitching rotation. In 2016, he went 10-13 win a 4.67 ERA, and 150 strikeouts. In a career that has spanned nine seasons, Garcia has gone 62-45 with an ERA of 3.57, as well as 723 strikeouts.
His best season came last year, when he had a career-best 2.43 ERA, going 10-6 and striking out 97 batters.
The Cardinals previously picked up Garcia’s club option for next season, St. Louis have now changed their mind, sending him Southeast.
With Garcia’s $12 million club option for 2017 now in the hands of the Braves, so is another arm for their revamped starting rotation. The Braves have had Julio Teheran to serve as their ace for a while, and they have also signed free agent right-handers Bartolo Colon and R.A. Dickey, as the off-season is officially underway in baseball.
Garcia brought a lot to the table in his eight years as a Cardinal, but the team has decided to move on from the lefty.
