Édgar Ernesto García (born October 4, 1996) is a Dominican professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

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for the Guelph Royals of the

Intercounty Baseball League The Intercounty Baseball League (IBL) is a Canadian baseball league, comprising teams of college players and others from North America and beyond. The teams are located in Southern Ontario. The league was formed in 1919 and has enjoyed much succ ...

(IBL). He has previously played in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

(MLB) for the

Philadelphia Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. The Phillies compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East Division. Since 2004, the team's home stadium has ...

Tampa Bay Rays The Tampa Bay Rays are an American professional baseball team based in the Tampa Bay area. The Rays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East Division. They are one of two major ...

Cincinnati Reds The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team based in Cincinnati. The Reds compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Divisi ...

, and

Minnesota Twins The Minnesota Twins are an American professional baseball team based in Minneapolis. The Twins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. The team is named afte ...

Professional career

Philadelphia Phillies

García was born in Sabana Grande de Palenque,

Dominican Republic The Dominican Republic is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles of the Caribbean Sea in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean. It shares a Maritime boundary, maritime border with Puerto Rico to the east and ...

. He worked out as a

shortstop Shortstop, abbreviated SS, is the baseball positions, baseball or softball fielding position between second base, second and third base, which is considered to be among the Defensive spectrum, most demanding defensive positions. Historically, the ...

for Phillies scouts initially in the Dominican Republic, but though his batting skills did not impress the scouts they liked his arm. He was signed as an international

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player or manager 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 a contract at present ...

as a pitcher by the

on May 29, 2014, for $30,000. García made his professional debut in 2014 with the Dominican Summer League Phillies, going 2–0 with a 2.10 ERA and 19 strikeouts in innings. García played for the rookie-level

Gulf Coast League Phillies The Florida Complex League Phillies are a Rookie-level affiliate of the Philadelphia Phillies, competing in the Florida Complex League of Minor League Baseball. Prior to 2021, the team was known as the Gulf Coast League Phillies. The team plays i ...

in 2015, going 1–2 with a 3.31 ERA and 34 strikeouts in innings pitched. García played for the Single-A

Lakewood BlueClaws The Jersey Shore BlueClaws (formerly Lakewood BlueClaws) are a Minor League Baseball team of the South Atlantic League and the High-A affiliate of the Philadelphia Phillies. They are located in Lakewood, New Jersey, and are named for their locat ...

in 2016, going 4–1 with a 2.80 ERA and 59 strikeouts over 61 innings of work. He played for the High-A

Clearwater Threshers The Clearwater Threshers are a Minor League Baseball team of the Florida State League and the Single-A affiliate of the Philadelphia Phillies. They are located in Clearwater, Florida, and have played their home games at BayCare Ballpark since 20 ...

in 2017, going 3–4 with a 4.47 ERA and 89 strikeouts across innings pitched.

2018–2020

In 2018, García split the season between 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 R ...

and 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 they are named in reference to pig iron, used ...

; he was 7–2 with a 3.64 ERA and 72 strikeouts in innings pitched. He was an Eastern League Mid-season All Star, was 4th in the league in appearances with 47, and among qualifying league relief pitchers he had the 4th-best opposing batting average, at .204, and the 5th-best SO/9.0 IP rate, at 10.26. He then pitched for the

Estrellas Orientales Estrellas Orientales (English: Eastern Stars), also known as Estrellas de Oriente, is a baseball team in the Dominican Winter League. Based in San Pedro de Macorís, the team has historically struggled, winning championships only in 1936, 1954, ...

of the

Dominican Winter League The Dominican Republic Professional Baseball League ( or LIDOM) is a professional baseball Winter league baseball, winter league consisting of six teams spread across the Dominican Republic; it is the highest level of professional baseball played ...

during the 2018 offseason. The Phillies added García to their

40-man roster A Major League Baseball roster is a list of players who are allowed, by league agreement, to play for a Major League Baseball (MLB) team. Each MLB team maintains two rosters: an active roster of players eligible to participate in an MLB game, an ...

after the 2018 season, in order to protect him from the

Rule 5 draft The Rule 5 draft is a Major League Baseball (MLB) player draft that occurs each year in December, at the annual Winter Meeting of general managers. The Rule 5 draft aims to prevent teams from stockpiling too many young players on their minor lea ...

. García opened the 2019 season back with Lehigh Valley, and before his promotion he was 1–1 with a 1.65 ERA and 23 strikeouts in innings pitched. On May 6, 2019, he was promoted to the major leagues for the first time, and made his major league debut that night. In 2019 with Lehigh Valley, García was 2–1 with eight saves and a 2.48 ERA in 25 relief appearances across 29 innings pitched, in which he struck out 38 batters (11.8 strikeouts per 9 innings). In 2019 with the Phillies, he was 2–0 with a 5.77 ERA in 37 relief appearances, in which he tossed 39 innings and struck out 45 batters (10.4 strikeouts per 9 innings). García was not immediately assigned to an affiliate to begin the 2020 season due to the cancellation of the minor league season because of the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

. García was

designated for assignment Designated for assignment (DFA) is a contractual term used in Major League Baseball (MLB). A player who is designated for assignment is immediately removed from the team's 40-man roster, after which the team must, within seven days, return the pla ...

by Philadelphia on August 13, 2020.

Tampa Bay Rays

On August 16, 2020, García was traded to the

in exchange for Rodolfo Sanchez. He was called up by the Rays on August 23 after Nick Anderson was placed on the injured list. In four games with Tampa Bay, García struggled to a 10.80 ERA with one strikeout and one save over innings pitched. On December 2, García was non-tendered by the Rays and became a free agent.

Cincinnati Reds

On December 23, 2020, García signed a one-year, $600,000 major-league contract with the

. On April 1, 2021, García was designated for assignment after Jonathan India was added to the 40-man roster. He was outrighted to the alternate training site on April 3, and was assigned to the Triple-A

Louisville Bats The Louisville Bats are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Cincinnati Reds. They are located in Louisville, Kentucky, and are named in dual reference to the bat, wi ...

to begin the year, where he pitched to a 3.38 ERA in 24 games. On July 19, García was selected to the active roster. In 5 appearances for the Reds, Garcia struggled to a 16.62 ERA with 4 strikeouts. On July 28, Garcia was designated for assignment by the Reds.

Minnesota Twins

On July 30, 2021, Garcia was claimed off of waivers by the

. On August 31, the Twins outrighted Garcia off of their 40-man roster and sent him outright to the Triple-A

St. Paul Saints The St. Paul Saints are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Minnesota Twins. They are located in Saint Paul, Minnesota, and have played their home games at CHS Field since 2015. They previ ...

. Garcia elected free agency on October 13. On April 20, 2022, García signed with the Mariachis de Guadalajara of the

Mexican League The Mexican Baseball League (, or LMB, ) is a professional baseball league in Mexico. It is the oldest running professional sports league in the country. The league has 20 teams organized in two divisions, North and South. Teams play 114 games ...

. However, he was released on April 27, without having made an appearance for the club.

Washington Nationals

On June 6, 2022, García signed a minor league contract with the

Washington Nationals The Washington Nationals are an American professional baseball team based in Washington, D.C. The Nationals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East Division. They play their home games at Na ...

organization. García spent the remainder of the year with the Double-A

Harrisburg Senators The Harrisburg Senators are a Minor League Baseball team who play in the Eastern League, and are the Double-A affiliate of the Washington Nationals. The team is based in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, and play their home games at FNB Field on Cit ...

, posting an 0–2 record and 6.38 ERA with 15 strikeouts in 24 innings pitched. He elected free agency following the season on November 10.

Frederick Atlantic League Team

On March 10, 2023, García signed with the Frederick Atlantic League Team in the

Atlantic League of Professional Baseball The Atlantic League of Professional Baseball (ALPB) is a professional independent baseball league in the United States. It is an official MLB Partner League based in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern United States, and the headquarters are l ...

. He pitched in 7 games for Frederick, but struggled immensely to the tune of a 14.21 ERA with 4 strikeouts in innings of work. On June 4, García was released by the team.

Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks

On July 7, 2023, García signed with the

Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks The Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks are a professional minor-league baseball team based in Fargo, North Dakota, in the United States. The RedHawks are members of the American Association of Professional Baseball, an official Partner League of Major Lea ...

of the

American Association of Professional Baseball The American Association of Professional Baseball is an independent professional baseball league founded in 2005. It operates in the central United States and Canada, mostly in cities not served by Major League Baseball teams or their minor ...

. In 13 games for the RedHawks, he recorded a 5.50 ERA with 16 strikeouts in 18 innings of work.

Lake Country DockHounds

On August 15, 2023, García was claimed off waivers by the Lake Country DockHounds of the

. In 8 appearances for Lake Country, García recorded a 5.59 ERA with 4 strikeouts across innings pitched. On February 14, 2024, García signed with the Charros de Jalisco of the

. However, prior to the season on April 5, García was released by Jalisco.

Acereros de Monclova

On May 5, 2024, García signed with the

Acereros de Monclova The Acereros de Monclova (English: Monclova Steelers) are a professional baseball team in the Mexican League The Mexican Baseball League (, or LMB, ) is a professional baseball league in Mexico. It is the oldest running professional sports l ...

of the

. In 12 appearances, he struggled to a 10.29 ERA, giving up 8 earned runs in just seven innings pitched. García was waived by Monclova on June 12.

Guelph Royals

On April 28, 2025, García signed with the Guelph Royals of the

Pitching style

García is known for an excellent 87 mph slider that has hard, downward action and generates more whiffs/swing compared to other pitchers' sliders.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:García, Édgar 1996 births Living people Acereros de Monclova players Cincinnati Reds players Clearwater Threshers players Curaçao expatriate baseball players in the United States Dominican Republic expatriate baseball players in Mexico Dominican Republic expatriate baseball players in the United States Dominican Summer League Phillies players Estrellas Orientales players Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks players Florida Complex League Phillies players Gigantes del Cibao players Harrisburg Senators players Lake Country DockHounds players Lakewood BlueClaws players Lehigh Valley IronPigs players Louisville Bats players Major League Baseball pitchers Major League Baseball players from the Dominican Republic Minnesota Twins players Philadelphia Phillies players Reading Fightin Phils players Spire City Ghost Hounds players St. Paul Saints players Tampa Bay Rays players Baseball players from San Cristóbal Province