Mets designate RHP García for assignment, call up RHP Gerber

NEW YORK -- Barely two weeks into the season, the Mets designated veteran right-hander Luis García for assignment on Sunday. García was one of three relievers the team signed to guaranteed Major League contracts over the offseason, along with Devin Williams and Luke Weaver.

García’s deal was worth $1.75 million, which the Mets will still be required to pay unless another team claims him off waivers, plus $1.25 million in incentives that he will no longer have a chance to collect.

In a corresponding move, the Mets called up reliever Joey Gerber.

“We needed [a fresh] arm, especially the way we used the bullpen the last couple of nights. We felt that we needed some protection there in case something bad happens again,” manager Carlos Mendoza said.

A 14-year veteran, García was coming off another strong year with the Dodgers, Nationals and Angels, posting a 3.42 ERA over 55 1/3 innings. But his sinker velocity has taken a significant dip in his age-39 season, down almost 3 mph from his 96.9 mph average last year and almost 5 mph from his 2022 peak. García allowed multiple earned runs in two of his six appearances, finishing with a 7.11 ERA. He last pitched on Saturday against the Athletics, throwing one scoreless inning.

“It wasn’t [an easy decision]," Mendoza said. “Obviously, Louie had to pitch yesterday. We were [hoping to stay] away from him until [Luke Weaver] got in trouble. We needed to have a fresh arm here.”

The DFA was the Mets’ second bullpen move of the weekend. On Saturday, they called up veteran Craig Kimbrel and designated left-hander Richard Lovelady for assignment.

Gerber, 28, last appeared in the Majors for the Rays last season. He has a 3.60 ERA over 19 Major League appearances and had pitched to a 5.40 ERA over his first four outings this year at Triple-A Syracuse.