Has Freddy Garcia pitched his last game for the Phillies? That remains to be seen, but it's likely that the right-hander is headed under the knife.
An MRI taken Monday afternoon at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital revealed Garcia had some abnormalities in his labrum and fraying to his rotator cuff. Garcia is planning on having a second opinion to the diagnosis, which will determine how long he will be out of action and what course of action will be taken.
Regardless, it isn't good for Garcia.
Garcia, of course, was the Phillies’ key off-season acquisition and was expected to be the inning-eating monster at the top of the rotation. Unfortunately for the Phillies, that hasn’t even been close to being true. After opening the season on the disabled list with a strained right biceps, Garcia has posted a 5.90 ERA in 11 starts for just 58 innings and a 1-5 record.
Though he pitched more than 200 innings in seven of his eight seasons, Garcia has only reached the seventh once for the Phillies.
Before the game, White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen said his former pitcher is very frustrated.
“I’m concerned as a friend. He’s frustrated – he wants to help those guys,” Guillen said.
Part of the trouble, Guillen says, is that the Phillies or their fans haven’t gotten a chance to appreciate the big right-hander’s work.
“They don’t know him – we know Freddy. He’s a horse. He wants to pitch no matter what. He’s a winner,” Guillen said.
“If you watch Freddy pitch for the first time and you don’t know him, you think, ‘What the [expletive] is that?’ He’s walking around, looking into the stands, staring at the catcher. But he’s a winner. He knows what he’s doing.”
Garcia is eligible to become a free agent at the end of the 2007 season. Hopefully, says Guillen, the pitcher will be able to get healthy and show the Phillies who he really is.
“When Freddy is healthy he’s something special. Hopefully the 15 days will get him healthy,” Guillen said. “I think he doesn’t want anyone to take the ball away from him. He wants the ball. He wants to pitch and help those guys win.”