It was 8:50 a.m. Tuesday when Freddy Garcia walked from his locker on the major league side of the Braves clubhouse over to the side filled with mostly rookies and non-roster invitees, many of whom still appear nervous and uncomfortable when well-known Braves players or high-ranking team officials walk past.
The pitcher plopped his big, 37-year-old body down on the carpet in front of a group of minor leaguers seated at their lockers, and began stretching his hamstrings while regaling them with stories from two decades of pro baseball. Within five minutes, there were a dozen young players circled around him, some standing, some seated, all enthralled.
“I think in every clubhouse you have a veteran presence, guys who’ve been through enough of these seasons and the ups and downs of a career that they are great sources of advice for guys,” Braves general manager Frank Wren said. “And Freddy’s clearly been through all of it. He’s got a wealth of knowledge.”
Garcia likes to talk almost as much as teammates enjoy listening. “Anything I need, anything I need to know, I can just ask him,” said Braves pitcher Julio Teheran, who was eight years old in 1999, when Garcia was a 17-game winner and American League Rookie of the Year runner-up for Seattle. “He’s been through a lot. … He’s excited to be here. We learn history from him, and I talk to him about things that might happen to me. It’s nice to be around him, to hear him.”
Garcia is in camp to win a major league job, preferably in the opening-day rotation, though he said he would be fine with the bullpen. The Braves re-signed him last month to a minor league contract that included the March 25 “opt-out” clause he requested, which permits him to become a free agent if he hasn’t won a big-league roster spot by then.
“If not, I’m not going back to the minor leagues,” Garcia said. “No chance.”
It’s not that he thinks he’s above pitching in the minors. It’s that he did it for more than half of the 2013 season, mostly with the Orioles’ Triple-A affiliate before the Braves got him in an August trade for a small amount of cash. They wanted starting depth because Brandon Beachy was having lingering elbow soreness.
The minor-league grind, including bus rides that Garcia said lasted up to 10 hours, was not suitable for his big ol’ body. But neither did retirement appeal to him this winter, after he showed that he could still get out major league hitters, posting a 1.65 ERA in six September games for the Braves, including a 1.83 ERA in three starts.
“I just want to play, man,” Garcia said. “I’m not ready go home. If I go home, I’ve got to do all that (regular) stuff. It’s not easy being home every day. You do that (routine) after the season. Sometimes you go crazy.”
He is 6-foot-4 and 255 pounds, known as “Chief” because of his countenance. “Approachable” isn’t likely among the words that come to mind when you see Garcia if you’ve not met him before. But to everyone who knows him, he is just that.
“Completely different than your first impression,” said Beachy, who said there is no language barrier between non-Spanish-speaking players and the Venezuelan veteran with the broken English and distinct, thickly accented baritone. “If anything, his accent makes it more enjoyable (conversing). Good to have him here. He’s a presence, for sure.”
In each of his three September starts, Garcia allowed two runs or fewer in six innings or more. And with the Braves facing elimination in the division series against the Dodgers, manager Fredi Gonzalez entrusted Garcia with a Game 4 start at Dodger Stadium. He allowed two runs and eight hits in six innings and was in line for win against Cy Young award winner Clayton Kershaw until Juan Uribe’s two-run homer off David Carpenter in the eighth.
Garcia has a 156-108 record and 4.15 ERA in 376 regular-season games, and he’s 6-3 with a 3.26 ERA in 11 postseason games including 10 starts.
His primary competitor for the fifth spot in the rotation likely will be left-hander Alex Wood, at least until Gavin Floyd returns in May or thereabouts after completing his Tommy John surgery rehab.
Garcia wasn’t given any assurances by the Braves, but felt good about signing with them.
“I like it here,” he said. “I had to get a job, man. (Pitching for the Braves) is one place I like. It’s real nice.”
