The Astros and Marlins have agreed to a trade that will send reliever Yimi García to Houston for outfield prospect Bryan De La Cruz, according to MLB Network's Jon Heyman. García will be the third reliever the Astros have acquired since Tuesday afternoon, joining Kendall Graveman and Rafael Montero, both of whom were added in a deal with the Seattle Mariners.
García, 31 come mid-August, will qualify for free agency at season's end. In 53 appearances with the Marlins dating back to 2020, he accumulated a 2.63 ERA (161 ERA+) and a 3.00 strikeout-to-walk ratio. This season alone, García had a 118 ERA+ and a 2.69 strikeout-to-walk ratio. His 15 saves were the most on the Marlins staff.
García is primarily a two-pitch pitcher, leaning heavily on his 96-mph fastball and a low-90s slider. His fastball features more than 2,500 rpm, which places him in the 94th percentile among big-league pitchers, according to Statcast.
The Astros entered Wednesday with a six-game lead in the American League West despite ranking 16th in the majors in bullpen ERA. Houston's relief corps had also recorded the 12th most meltdowns, a FanGraphs measure based on win probability added that attempts to gauge how responsible bullpens are for wins or losses.
The Marlins, who also traded outfielder Starling Marte to the Oakland Athletics earlier in the day, will receive De La Cruz in return. He's a 24-year-old who has hit .324/.362/.518 with 12 home runs in 293 Triple-A plate appearances. De La Cruz is eligible for this winter's Rule 5 Draft, meaning the Marlins will have to add him to the 40-player roster to protect him against being selected. It reasons that he could play in the majors before the season is out.
