The Angels on Thursday traded Jose Alvarez, one of their most effective relief pitchers of the 2018 season, to the Philadelphia Phillies for right-hander Luis Garcia.
Garcia, who will be 32 next season, had a 6.07 earned-run average in 59 games last season. He allowed four home runs, hit four batters and threw seven wild pitches. But his peripheral statistics offer some encouragement: Garcia struck out a career-high 10 batters per nine innings, allowed 18 walks in 46 innings and amassed a 3.51 in fielding independent pitching, or FIP. While at it, he flashed a fastball that averaged 97 mph and threw a mid-80s slider that generated about 51% whiffs per swing, a rate that ranked 15th among major league relievers, according to Baseball Prospectus’ PITCHf/x leaderboards.