LOS ANGELES – A day after the Braves seemed close to finalizing a trade to send Jaime Garcia to the Twins, the left-hander was back in the clubhouse Friday afternoon, going over Dodgers hitters with catcher Tyler Flowers as Garcia prepared for his scheduled start in the second game of the series.
The Braves and Twins hadn’t reached an agreement after all and were still in trade discussions Friday, while one or two other teams were believed to have also expressed renewed interest in Garcia. It was thought the Braves would get at least one mid-level prospect from the Twins if a deal was finalized, but it wasn’t clear how much, if any, the Braves were willing to pay of the remaining $4.9 million that Garcia was owed on his $12 million salary.
Aaron Blair was scratched from his Triple-A start for Gwinnett on Thursday and flown to Los Angeles in case he was needed Friday.
Manager Brian Snitker said the situation wasn’t strange for him Friday because he didn’t let it become that way — he woke Friday with the mindset that unless and until he was told otherwise, Garcia would be his starter and that was that.
“I’m just treating it like a normal day,” Snitker said before batting practice Friday afternoon at Dodger Stadium. “I think (Garcia) is too. So, no, I had no problem putting his name in the lineup. Far as I’m concerned, he’s pitching tonight and hopefully does what he did Sunday.”
Garcia was 1-2 with a 7.45 ERA in his past five starts before Friday, allowing five or more earned runs in four consecutive outings before holding the Diamondbacks to four hits and one run in seven innings of a win Sunday.
The 31-year-old was 3-7 with a 4.33 ERA through 17 starts before Friday in his first season with the Braves, who got him from the Cardinals in a Dec. 1 trade for three fringe prospects.
The Braves are still expected to trade him before the July 31 non-waiver trade deadline since he’ll be a free agent after the season and they never planned to re-sign him at free-agent prices.
The Twins were 48-46 and only a half-game behind Cleveland for first place in the American League Central before Friday. They recently signed starter Bartolo Colon to a minor league deal after the 44-year-old was released by the Braves, but Colon gave up eight hits and four runs in four innings of his Twins debut Tuesday and could soon retire.
In parts of nine major league seasons, Garcia has been slowed by injuries but still had a 65-52 record and 3.65 ERA in 175 games (164 starts) before Friday. He was 10-13 with a 4.67 ERA in 171 12/3 innings for the Cardinals in 2016, the first time since 2011 that he made more than 20 starts or pitched as many as 130 innings.
The Braves acquired Garcia from the Cardinals in a trade for minor league pitchers John Gant and Chris Ellis and infielder Luke Dykstra, the son of former major leaguer Lenny Dykstra.
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