Garcia top hired gun for '08 stretch run

Ken Davidoff

May 11, 2008

The best remaining pitcher on the free-agent market is not David Wells, it's Freddy Garcia. The righthander, who had surgery to repair his throwing shoulder on Aug. 30, will step on the mound Thursday and begin the final laps to a return that should occur sometime around the All-Star break.

Garcia could have signed with a team last winter and received paychecks during his rehabilitation. But his agents, brothers Peter and Edward Greenberg and Chris Leible, wanted to follow the trend set by Roger Clemens in 2006 and 2007, and Garcia, financially secure, blessed that strategy.

"We felt it was going to be a better situation for him moving forward," Leible said Friday in a telephone interview. "People are a lot more interested, and there's greater need than in January or February. We're hoping he's going be a big help to somebody down the stretch."

At some point soon, Garcia, who turns 33 in June, will invite teams to watch him pitch near his Miami home. As long as he exhibits good health, he figures to set off a considerable battle for his services.

Ken Davidoff Bio | E-mail | Recent columns

True, Garcia put up terrible numbers for the Phillies last year, going 1-5 with a 5.90 ERA in 11 starts. But he tried to pitch through his shoulder discomfort. Garcia's body of work - he compiled 200 or more innings in 1999, then 2001-06 - displays his reliability.

Here's one space's list of Garcia's potential landing spots, starting with the most likely and in descending order.

1. Mets. They have an obvious spot for him in their starting rotation, even if and when Pedro Martinez returns. Garcia's agents also represent Jose Reyes and Johan Santana, so they have a healthy working relationship with the front office. Garcia visited with the Mets in spring training.

2. Braves. John Smoltz's short-term future as the team's closer creates room for Garcia. With the over-40 duo of Smoltz and Tom Glavine facing possible retirement at season's end, and with Mark Teixeira set to explore free agency, the Braves have incentive to go for it this year.

3. Tigers. The veteran-heavy Tigers are built to win now, and their starting pitching stinks. Tigers third baseman Carlos Guillen is very friendly with Garcia from their Seattle days.

4. Yankees. Will Brian Cashman bid high for Garcia like he did last year for Clemens? Or will he keep using young pitchers, emphasizing development over potential short-term gain?

5. Cardinals. If they remain in contention - and this wouldn't be the first time a team led by Tony La Russa and Dave Duncan surprised people - this would make plenty of sense for Garcia.

6. Red Sox. They, like the Mets, entertained Garcia in spring training. However, they have more starting pitching depth than the teams above them on this list.

7. Astros. They traded Garcia and Guillen for Randy Johnson in 1998, they're not bringing Clemens back and they're surprisingly competitive.

8. Mariners. Garcia had his finest years in Seattle. But will they even still be in the pennant race by the break?

Boomer and new Boss

Hank Steinbrenner made his weekly news by telling the Post of his possible interest in bringing back Wells. But the more interesting tidbit might be that Hank declined his father's request to fly to New York to check on the Yankees. Instead, Steinbrenner's elder son opted to stay in Tampa.

It's been wildly entertaining to have Hank on the scene, and here's hoping that he keeps yapping. Yet Hank's younger brother Hal has made a more significant impact on the organization, backing Cashman's plan to build the farm system.

Meanwhile, here's betting that Wells gets another chance, probably from a National League club, and that Kenny Lofton finds work with a team that needs outfield depth. But Barry Bonds, Mike Piazza and Sammy Sosa will remain unemployed.

Spreading the gospel

The Red Sox had obvious business opportunities to exploit while in Japan to open the season, but they also tried some old-fashioned handshaking. The team paid for Rob Crawford, vice president of the official "Red Sox Nation" organization, to accompany a group of high-end fans on a chartered plane.

"They told me that they were sending me because they wanted me to write about experiences on [Crawford's] blog, greet as many Japanese fans as I could and try and network over there with Red Sox fans," Crawford said.

He handed out roughly 500 business cards, Crawford said, and he has kept in touch with about 10 of the people whom he met.

The Mets and Yankees should steal this idea the next time they play abroad.