I was looking forward to the end of his contract before he was extended. Taken objectively we have gotten exactly what he projected and I fear that his best trade value is currently about as good as it will get for the remainder of that contract.
Every time I see this thread I think that. Could we rename it or just replace it? I am getting forgetful in my dotage and I Will forget this is no longer a thread about a surprising injury to Garcia.
This is the LMJ contract thread. If you want Garcia injury news you should maybe check out the McCullers thread.
I think that 2019 game at the end of that clip is what put Fiers over the edge. He was having a career year (finished 15-4). Take out the games against the Astros that year and he probably receives some Cy Young votes. He probably thought the Astros still had a system for them to be able to hit him that well and were screwing him over again after keeping him off the 2017 playoff roster.
He should be ready to be in the rotation coming out of the all star break, which will give them a couple turns through to assess the rotation going into the trade deadline.
That could also be interpreted as he hasn't been an MLB pitcher all that long already... and he now hasn't pitched over the last year plus.... so even when he does come back, and is at full strength, we don't expect him to hit the ground running. The Astros did successfully rehab JV and he won the CYA his first year back (which is even more amazing in hindsight). He did fade some in the playoffs/WS. At least Garcia will have this season to get re-acclimated and should ready to hit the ground running at full blast starting 2025.
