Braves trade Jaime Garcia to Twins

The Twins have acquired left-hander Jaime Garcia, catcher Anthony Recker and cash ($100k) from the Braves for minor-league right Huascar Ynoa, according to a team announcement.

Minnesota and Atlanta were said to be close to finalizing a deal sending Garcia to the Twins late last week, though the agreement fell through due to Atlanta’s concerns with the medical reports on righty Nick Burdi, who was in the original iteration of the deal. Garcia drew interest from the Brewers, Astros, Yankees and Royals between when the first deal with Minnesota collapsed and today.

Garcia, 31, is a free agent after this season, meaning he’s a pure rental for a Twins club that currently sits 2.5 games behind the Indians in the AL Central and one game behind the Royals and Twins in the wild card race. Garcia will slot into a rotation that includes Ervin Santana, Adalberto Mejia, Jose Berrios and an injured Hector Santiago. He will likely replace either Kyle Gibson or Bartolo Colon in the starting mix.

Garcia, acquired by the Braves in a 4-player trade with the Cardinals over the winter, has posted a 4.30 ERA and 6.8 K/9 in 18 starts with the club this season. He has impressed over his last two outings, causing his trade stock to rise at a time when there are few options for rotation-needy clubs.

Minnesota will pay the rest of Garcia’s $4.55 million this season and $200k out of the $300k owed to Recker, per FOX’s Ken Rosenthal. Only $100k will change hands in the trade.

Recker, who turns 34 next month, will add another catching option for the Twins’ organization, giving the club depth behind Jason Castro and Chris Gimenez. Recker has only appeared in six major-league games this year, hitting .143/.143/.286 in that span while posting a .223/.301/.381 line in 41 games at Triple-A Gwinnett.

Ynoa, 19, did not rank in Baseball America’s listing of the Twins’ top 10 prospects last year, coming in as the club’s no. 22 prospect on MLB.com’s list. He has posted a 5.26 ERA in 25.2 innings with Rookie-level Elizabethton this season and is regarded as a high-ceiling righty with starter potential.

Ynoa, who was signed by Minnesota in 2014 for $800k, is considered a bit of a lesser prospect than Burdi, though Atlanta saved money in completing the second version of the deal. The Braves are expected to pursue controllable starting pitching now that there is a hole in their rotation, with Sonny Gray serving as one option for general manager John Coppolella.