Luis Amado García (born January 30, 1987) is a Dominican

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Modern professional ...

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw ...

for the

San Diego Padres The San Diego Padres are an American professional baseball team based in San Diego. The Padres compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1969, the club has won two NL penn ...

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

(MLB). He previously played for the Philadelphia Phillies,

Los Angeles Angels The Los Angeles Angels are an American professional baseball team based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Angels compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. Since 1966, the team h ...

, Texas Rangers and

St. Louis Cardinals The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Since the 2006 season, the Cardinals ha ...

. García was originally signed by the

Los Angeles Dodgers The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles. The Dodgers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Established in 1883 in the city of Brooklyn ...

organization as an amateur

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

in 2004, at the age of 16. His initial MLB call-up occurred on July 9, 2013. García made his big league debut the next day, versus the

Washington Nationals The Washington Nationals are an American professional baseball team based in Washington, D.C.. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. From 2005 to 2007, the team played in RFK Stadiu ...

Citizens Bank Park Citizens Bank Park is a baseball stadium located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in the city's South Philadelphia Sports Complex. It is the home playing field of the Philadelphia Phillies, the city's Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise. The ...

. That day, he pitched one scoreless inning, in relief of Phillies ace,

Cliff Lee Clifton Phifer Lee (born August 30, 1978) is an American former professional baseball starting pitcher who played for 13 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB). Between 2002 and 2014 he played for four teams, most notably the Philadelphia Philli ...

. García has had two stints playing professional baseball, initially from to , and from to present. During the period in between stints, García was mostly out of baseball, working in the barbering and moving businesses, save for a brief, rocky comeback attempt in independent ball.

Professional career

Early professional career (2006–10)

García was originally signed by the

organization as an amateur

in 2004, and first played in the

Dominican Summer League The Dominican Summer League (DSL) is a branch of affiliated Minor League Baseball which is played in the Dominican Republic. The league was founded in 1985. After the demise of the Venezuelan Summer League after the 2015 season, it is the only ...

for them in . He remained in the Dodgers organization until ; on August 31, García was traded to the

along with a

player to be named later In Major League Baseball, a player to be named later (PTBNL) is an unnamed player involved in exchange or "trade" of players between teams. The terms of a trade are not finalized until a later date, most often following the conclusion of the seaso ...

( Victor Garate), for infielder

Ronnie Belliard Ronald Belliard (born April 7, 1975) is an American former professional baseball second baseman. He played 13 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1998 to 2010 for the Milwaukee Brewers, Colorado Rockies, Cleveland Indians, St. Louis Card ...

. In total in 2009, García had six wins, three losses, with a 2.76

earned run average In baseball statistics, earned run average (ERA) is the average of earned runs allowed by a pitcher per nine innings pitched (i.e. the traditional length of a game). It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number ...

(ERA), and five saves, with the

Great Lakes Loons The Great Lakes Loons are a Minor League Baseball team of the Midwest League and the High-A affiliate of the Los Angeles Dodgers. They are located in Midland, Michigan, and play their home games at Dow Diamond, which opened in April 2007. Histor ...

and

Potomac Nationals The Potomac Nationals were a Minor League Baseball team of the Carolina League. They were located in Woodbridge, Virginia, and played their home games at Northwest Federal Field at Pfitzner Stadium. After the 2019 season, the team relocated to F ...

. He spent the season in the Nationals organization before being granted free agency.

Philadelphia Phillies

After spending 2011 out of baseball and in pitching only nine games for the

Newark Bears The Newark Bears were an American minor league professional baseball team based in Newark, New Jersey. They were a member of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball and, later, the Canadian American Association of Professional Baseball. T ...

of the

Can-Am League The Canadian American Association of Professional Baseball, commonly known as the Can-Am League, was a professional, independent baseball league with teams in the Northeast United States and Eastern Canada, founded in 2005 as a reorganization ...

during which he totaled an 11.57 ERA, García assumed his professional career was over, and began trying to learn the trade of

barbering A barber is a person whose occupation is mainly to cut, dress, groom, style and shave men's and boys' hair or beards. A barber's place of work is known as a "barbershop" or a "barber's". Barbershops are also places of social interaction and publi ...

at a salon in

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

. At night, he worked at a moving company. At that time, García’s only baseball activity was teaching children and a few pickup games, yet Phillies international scouting director

Sal Agostinelli Salvatore Peter Agostinelli (born September 4, 1961) has served many roles in professional baseball. He played in the minor leagues mostly as a catcher, coached and scouted. He is now the International Scouting Director for the Philadelphia Philli ...

heard about García and sent someone to watch him throw. After discovering that García consistently threw a fastball that was 94

miles per hour Miles per hour (mph, m.p.h., MPH, or mi/h) is a British imperial and United States customary unit of speed expressing the number of miles travelled in one hour. It is used in the United Kingdom, the United States, and a number of smaller cou ...

(mph) as well as an "impressive" slider, Agostinelli had García come to Phillies spring training. The Phillies signed him to a minor league contract and assigned him to the Clearwater Threshers, their Advanced-A affiliate, on March 25, 2013. Agostinelli was quoted as saying, "It's literally one of those things as a scout that you dream about." Despite his accolades from the scouting staff, García was not expected to reach the majors. Beginning the year in Clearwater before earning promotions to the Double-A

Reading Fightin Phils The Reading Fightin Phils (also called the Reading Fightins) are a Minor League Baseball team based in Reading, Pennsylvania, playing in the Northeast Division of the Eastern League. The team plays their home games at FirstEnergy Stadium. The Re ...

and the Triple-A

Lehigh Valley IronPigs The Lehigh Valley IronPigs are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the Philadelphia Phillies. They are located in Allentown, Pennsylvania, and are named in reference to pig iron, used in the ...

, García combined to post a 1.67 ERA and 9.3

strikeouts per nine innings pitched In baseball statistics, strikeouts per nine innings pitched (K/9, SO/9, or SO/9IP) is the mean of strikeouts (or Ks) by a pitcher per nine innings pitched. It is determined by multiplying the number of strikeouts by nine, and dividing by the numb ...

(K/9). He was called up to the Major Leagues on July 9, 2013, to replace

Phillippe Aumont Phillippe Aumont (born January 7, 1989) is a Canadian former professional baseball pitcher, who played for the Philadelphia Phillies of Major League Baseball (MLB). He was drafted by the Seattle Mariners 11th overall in the 2007 Major League Ba ...

. García was recalled from Lehigh Valley on May 8, 2014 and had several stints with the Phillies that season, ultimately appearing in 13 games. In , García made the Phillies' Opening Day roster after a strong spring training. His performance during the first half of the season was characterized as "inconsistent" by then-interim manager Pete Mackanin, who said García had been hanging too many sliders. In , García was 3–1, with one save, in 59 games (all in relief), with a 6.07 ERA, a 1.46 WHIP, and 51 strikeouts in 46 innings.

Los Angeles Angels

On December 6, 2018, the Phillies traded García to the Los Angeles Angels for relief pitcher José Álvarez. García would make 64 appearances for the Angels in 2019, posting a 2–1 record and 4.35 ERA. García elected free agency following the 2019 season.

Texas Rangers

On January 9, 2020, Garcia signed a minor league deal with the Texas Rangers that included an invite to Spring Training. On August 18, 2020, Garcia was selected to the major league roster. On September 15, Garcia was designated for assignment after struggling to a 7.56 ERA in 11 games. Garcia was granted free agency on September 17.

New York Yankees

On December 12, 2020, García signed a minor league contract with the

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. They are one of ...

organization. He was assigned to the Triple-A

Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders The Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders (often abbreviated to SWB RailRiders) are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the New York Yankees. They are located in Moosic, Pennsylvania, in the ...

to begin the 2021 season. In 18 appearances with Scranton, García logged a 1–2 record and 3.63 ERA. He was granted his released by the Yankees on July 6.

St. Louis Cardinals

On July 9, 2021, García signed a major league contract with the

. García debuted for the Cardinals against the Chicago Cubs on the same day and hit the first batter he faced, Willson Contreras, in the head with a fastball.

San Diego Padres

On December 1, 2021, García signed a two-year contract with the

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Garcia, Luis 1987 births Living people Clearwater Threshers players Dominican Republic expatriate baseball players in the United States Dominican Summer League Dodgers players Estrellas Orientales players Great Lakes Loons players Gulf Coast Dodgers players Hagerstown Suns players Lehigh Valley IronPigs players Los Angeles Angels players Major League Baseball pitchers Major League Baseball players from the Dominican Republic Newark Bears players Ogden Raptors players Philadelphia Phillies players Potomac Nationals players Reading Fightin Phils players San Diego Padres players Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders players Sportspeople from Santo Domingo St. Louis Cardinals players Texas Rangers players