Red Sox fans would rather have Dom Smith in the bullpen than Luis Garcia
At least for now, Craig Breslow's deadline deal for Luis Garcia has turned out to be a swing and a miss, plain and simple.
The 37-year-old right hander, who joined his seventh MLB organization on July 30, has been dreadful ever since he began to don a Sox jersey. Counting his most recent outing in Baltimore, Garcia has an astounding 14.09 earned run average (ERA) in 7.2 innings pitched since coming across the country to Boston. Batters are having a field day at the plate, hitting .400 against him post-deadline.
The Red Sox entered the the bottom of the seventh on Thursday in a crucial encounter with the Orioles with an 11-6 advantage. On comes Garcia. The lead shrinks immediately. Five pitches in and the home outfit cut it to three.
Boston fans jokingly think the club should've DFA'd Garcia and slotted Smith into a new role
Despite the triumph, Boston's offense can only carry this team so far. Solutions need to be found in the bullpen. Some Sox fans would rather have a recently DFA’d first baseman, Dominic Smith, tossing innings out of the bullpen than someone with a 2.22 WHIP and four home runs allowed in seven appearances.
Red Sox have DFAed relief pitcher Dominic Smith
— 🎙️Not Another Sox Podcast🎙️ (@NASPpodcast) August 16, 2024
He had a 0.00 ERA on the season pic.twitter.com/BtcwaW4aX6
Maybe it's time the Red Sox cut their loses with Luis Garcia.
— Behind the Monster's Wall (@monsters_wall) August 17, 2024
I mean even Dom smith was a more effective pitcher than him.
I’d rather have Dom Smith pitch than Luis Garcia. @Section10Pod
— Coach Schlicke (@shwack21) August 17, 2024
Bring back Dominator the Pitcher. At least he wants to play baseball for the Red Sox. Luis Garcia just spit in the face of the Red Sox everytime he pitches in that uniform.
Dom Smith is a better reliever than Luis García #redsox #dirtywater #mlb
— Honest Boston Sports Fan (@HonestRedSoxFan) August 17, 2024
At this point the Red Sox should’ve just DFAd Luis Garcia and had Dom Smith take a stab at the whole pitching thing again
— Joey Bag Of Donuts (@Joe_Moran02) August 17, 2024
Smith, the 29-year-old ex-first round draft selection, has thrown three innings for the Red Sox this season. Not a single runner crossed home plate with him on the bump. Just two batters managed to tally a hit as he throw pitches ranging from 31.9 miles per hour all the way up to 79.2 against Houston. Nobody has hit him hard yet.
Yes, these were garbage time outings, but he created some incredible vibes on the mound. He clearly became a fan favorite, successfully bridging the gap for the Sox at first base as Triston Casas recovered from a rib injury. It's quite the gamble, especially when it comes to someone like Casas who has talked about experiencing pain on his rehab stint in Worcester.
Boston's bullpen desperately needs consistency. Since the All-Star Break, five of the eight Red Sox pitchers with seven or more appearances have posted ERAs above 6.00, including two deadline acquisitions. From July 1 onward, the New England outfit's relief corps has led MLB in home runs allowed per nine innings while recording a league-worst 5.43 FIP (Fielder Independent Pitching).
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