SEATTLE -- Sunday night, Triple-A Tacoma manager John Russell called Brandyn Garcia into his office and said the exact words no Rainiers pitcher wants to hear: Double-A Arkansas needed fresh arms.
Pause for dramatic effect.
"Then he said, ‘But you’re not going. You’re going to Seattle,’” Garcia said. “He got me there a little bit.”
On Monday, the 25-year-old lefty -- less than a month removed from his promotion from Double-A to Triple-A -- was at T-Mobile Park as the newest member of the Mariners.
"It’s unreal,” said Garcia, Seattle’s No. 13 prospect according to MLB Pipeline. “It’s always been a dream. I’m excited for it, I’m ready to go out there and compete.”
In a corresponding move, the Mariners optioned right-hander Juan Burgos to Tacoma. Burgos made four appearances after getting called up on June 28, allowing three runs in 6 2/3 innings.
Garcia became the eighth rookie to make his debut with the Mariners this year when he took the mound for the eighth inning of Seattle’s 6-0 loss to Milwaukee. His first inning in big leagues was far from smooth sailing -- he allowed two runs (one earned) on four hits and a walk, committed an error in the field and threw a wild pitch.
“It was great to see Brandyn out there and get a chance to get his feet wet,” manager Dan Wilson said. “Obviously, he probably didn’t want to give up the two runs, but I thought he threw the ball pretty well, his sinker was pretty good. Just a couple of bad-luck situations for him.”
Monday night’s game had already flipped on its head when Garcia came in. George Kirby opened the night with five no-hit innings and got the leadoff batter in the sixth out before Joey Ortiz flared a single into left field. That was all it took for Milwaukee to open the flood gates; the Brewers racked up 10 hits in the next 14 at-bats.
Garcia was Seattle’s 11th-round pick in the 2023 Draft, following three years as a starter at Quinnipiac University and transferring to Texas A&M, where he came out of the bullpen. He began his professional career by finishing the ‘23 season as a reliever, before moving to the rotation last year. After making 25 starts between High-A Everett and Arkansas in ‘24, Garcia earned a non-roster invitation to Spring Training this year, giving him a chance to work with the big league staff in Peoria.
"Every single person in Spring Training helped me out,” Garcia said. “Gabe Speier gave me a little bit of insight, like, ‘You’ve got this. Just keep going and you’re going to help us out one day.’ I took true to that, and I was just going to go about my business during the season.”
Coming back from Arizona, Garcia returned to the bullpen, posting a 3.51 ERA with 42 strikeouts in 33 1/3 total innings, racking up an 11.34 K/9 rate that ranks second in the Seattle farm system (min: 30 innings).
Now, he joins Speier in the Seattle bullpen -- one whose 43 2/3 innings thrown by left-handers is the least in the league entering play Monday. Aside from Speier, the Mariners have only had six southpaw appearances out of the 'pen all season -- and just one since the end of April.
"Having a couple of lefties down there I think takes a little pressure off of Gabe, and then also gives us a much different look at different points in the ballgame,” Wilson said. “Certainly an advantage to getting another lefty.”
Garcia gives Wilson a different sort of lefty to work with compared to Speier’s mix of fastballs and a curve, with more glove-side movement thanks to a slider and a big-break sweeper that’s turned into a weapon for him.
"Last year was Year 1 with the sweeper,” Garcia said. “That was something last offseason that they had me come back with and experiment with. Just being able to go out there every day and throw it and be more consistent with it has been a huge part of it.”
The callup to Seattle also meant a reunion with Logan Evans, who’s been Garcia’s roommate and best friend in the organization since the two were drafted in consecutive rounds.
The two finished the 2023 season together in Single-A Modesto. In 2024, Evans skipped Everett to begin the year in Arkansas, where Garcia joined him in August. This season, Evans made his MLB debut on April 27 and is now in his third stint with the Mariners; he’s logged a 3.81 ERA in 10 starts.
So after Garcia broke the news of his callup to his family Sunday night, one of the first priorities was telling Evans, bringing the pair's journey full-circle.
"Day 1, I walked in that hotel room and there was Logan sitting on the bed,” Garcia said. “I think since that day, we’ve really come together and realized that we can do this and that the Mariners are here to help us. Not just throw us out into the fire; they’re here to help us and get us to exactly where we are today.”