Dodgers sign Freddy Garcia to minor-league deal

The Los Angeles Dodgers have added some depth to a thinned out crop of starting pitchers, signing right-hander Freddy Garcia to a minor-league deal, according to MLB.com's Ken Gurnick. The 38-year-old will attempt to make it back to the majors after spending the 2014 season in Taiwan pitching for the EDA Rhinos.

Garcia, a 15-year big league veteran, spent last spring in camp with the Atlanta Braves, but failed to make the major league club out of spring training, resulting in his departure to Taiwan. He last pitched in the majors in 2013, throwing 80.1 innings for the Orioles and Braves, posting a respectable 91 ERA+. He was last a significant contributor in 2011 with the Yankees, when he put up a 3.62 ERA, 119 ERA+, and 3.5 WAR in 146.2 innings.

Garcia seems to have been around for ages, first signing as an amateur free agent with the Astros in 1993. He made his big league debut in 1999, and finished second in Rookie of the Year balloting that season. He would proceed to make two All-Star teams with the Mariners in the early-2000's, and anchored the rotation for Seattle's record-setting 116-win season in 2001. He would go on to have further success with the White Sox, winning the World Series in 2005.

Garcia figures to serve as depth for Los Angeles, most likely starting out the season at Triple-A Oklahoma City. The Dodgers are set to be without Hyun-Jin Ryu for the start of the season, as he is out dealing with a sore shoulder. Joe Wieland is likely to take his place, but the Dodgers don't have too much immediate depth behind him. Making depth even more important is the matter that both Brett Anderson and Brandon McCarthy have demonstrated quite a bit of proneness to injury in the recent past.