Minnesota Twins top 2017 moments: Garcia’s wild Twins ride
The Minnesota Twins had an incredible run to the playoffs in 2017. Let’s remember some of the best moments of the year!
The Minnesota Twins had an incredibly fun season to follow as a fan. To close out the calendar year of 2017, we will take a look back at some of the biggest moments of the season!
Our next moment came in July with the whole ordeal surrounding the acquisition and subsequent trade of Jaime Garcia.
How Jaime Garcia came to be a Twin
The Minnesota Twins entered July in a tight race with the Cleveland Indians, and as they came out of the All-Star break, they were looking for starting pitching as multiple starters had gone down with injury.
The Twins made contact with the Atlanta Braves to discuss trade, and on July 20th, the rumor mill was hot and heavy. In fact, I was on the podcast of Twins fan Cory Engelhart (his podcast is called “Baseball Is Good”, and Twins fans should check it out) that evening discussing the merits of a Twins/Braves matchup over Garcia.
Four days later, the trade came to fruition, sending Garcia and minor league catcher Anthony Recker along with catch to the Twins for minor league pitcher Huascar Ynoa.
Garcia made one start for the Twins, a road start for the Twins in the midst of a tough West Coast road trip. The Twins gave Garcia a run in the second and then 4 runs in the fourth inning, and Garcia was able to keep the A’s at bay to get a rare win on the trip.
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Garcia threw 6 2/3 innings, allowing 3 runs on 8 hits and 3 walks, striking out 7. Garcia made 98 pitches, 63 of them strikes before he handed the ball off to the bullpen.
However, the Twins couldn’t build momentum from Garcia’s start, losing the next two games in crushing walk-off fashion, convincing the front office to make deals to sell, leading them to trade Garcia to the Yankees for two minor league arms.
Garcia ended up struggling mightily with the Yankees out of the gate, making 5 August starts, with a 5.11 ERA, 1.78 WHIP, and a 16/20 BB/K ratio over 24 2/3 innings. His best moment as a Yankee came against the Twins, interestingly, as he went 5 2/3 innings in a September start, allowing only an unearned run and striking out 9.
Next: How offseason deals affect the Twins' plans
The Minnesota Twins going from buyers to sellers within the period of a week was one of the story lines that frustrated many fans, especially as the team went on its torrid August run, and many fans felt the team could have used the players who had been traded away. That’s always hard to gauge, but it did lead to a very interesting season path for one lefty for sure!