The Seattle Mariners announced Monday afternoon that they have selected the contract of LHP Brandyn Garcia from Triple-A Tacoma. Garcia will join Seattle immediately and be in the bullpen as they kick off the series against the Milwaukee Brewers. In a corresponding move, Seattle has demoted RHP Juan Burgos.
The series victory over the Houston Astros that Seattle earned this weekend did not require a heavy lefty presence from the pitching staff, as Houston’s lineup skews righty heavy in the extreme.
However, with a Brew Crew retinue that typically places two lefties in their top for hitters, giving the heavily taxed Gabe Speier some back up seems wise. Burgos showed promise since his call up, but did not receive many opportunities to earn higher leverage work.
Garcia is a relative success story to this point for Seattle’s player development. The southpaw was a swingman at Texas A&M University before being drafted by the M’s in the 11th round of the 2023 draft. Converted fully to relief work this season, Garcia has seen his stuff improve alongside his results. He can work multi inning assignments, as a byproduct of his rotational past, and has eye-popping stuff that can at times look unhittable.
First Triple-A strikeout for Brandyn Garcia. https://t.co/0I7ilAxmjZ pic.twitter.com/uTp164mx8g
— Mariners Minors (@MiLBMariners) June 26, 2025
Garcia singes bats with a sizzling fastball that skims triple digits but most often is 96-98. However, because it’s primarily a sinker from a low arm slot, the lefty gets grounders over whiffs on his heat. Where the punishment comes is on the firm, 87-91 mph slider pictured above, which is tight and disgusting. He’ll mix in a sweeping variation alongside the short, tight dropping version, which is predominantly where his whiffs come. His first appearance will be his big league debut, and Garcia is likely the most promising relief arm Seattle could promote this year internally.
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