SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- Jarlin is a Marlin no more.

The Giants announced Monday that they’ve claimed left-hander Jarlin García off waivers from Miami, adding another relief option to their bullpen mix one day before pitchers and catchers are due to report to Arizona for the start of Spring Training.

Right-hander Burch Smith, who posted a 2.08 ERA over 10 appearances for the Giants last season, was designated for assignment to clear a spot on the 40-man roster.

García, 27, logged a 4.29 ERA over 150 appearances in parts of three Major League seasons with the Marlins. He is coming off his most encouraging campaign to date, as he recorded a 3.02 ERA over 50 2/3 innings in 2019. García’s relatively even splits -- he held right-handed batters to a .603 OPS and lefties to a .601 OPS last year -- were likely a major draw for the Giants, who recognize the increased value of that skill due to the arrival of the new three-batter minimum rule for relievers.

“On the pitching side, it probably creates more value around pitchers with balanced splits who are comparably good against lefties and righties, rather than specialists,” president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi said last week. “Because we're rounding out the roster here, we're probably going to pay attention to those things on the margins and target players that we think are going to be more valuable with some of the rule changes we’re going to see this year.”

The Giants are short on left-handed relief depth after losing closer Will Smith to the Braves this offseason, though veteran Tony Watson is set to return and will enter camp as the leading candidate to pitch the ninth inning.

García appears poised to compete with fellow lefties Wandy Peralta, Andrew Suárez and non-roster invitee Jerry Blevins for a spot in the Giants’ bullpen this spring. He is out of options, meaning that if he doesn’t make the Opening Day roster, the Giants will not be able to send him to the Minors without first exposing him to waivers.

When a player's contract is designated for assignment -- often abbreviated "DFA" -- that player is immediately removed from his club's 40-man roster, and 25-man roster if he was on that as well. Within seven days of the transaction (it was previously 10 days), the player must either be traded, released or placed on irrevocable outright waivers.

Genoves invited to big league camp
With Aramis García expected to miss six to eight months after undergoing right hip surgery on Thursday, the Giants decided to bring another catcher into the fold for Spring Training, adding prospect Ricardo Genoves to their list of non-roster invitees.

Genoves, 20, will be in big league camp for the first time after hitting .265 with an .804 OPS over 51 games between the club’s Class A affiliates in Augusta and Salem-Keizer last year. Signed for $500,000 out of Venezuela in 2015, he is ranked the Giants’ No. 23 prospect by MLB Pipeline.

Genoves will be one of five non-roster catchers in Giants camp this spring, joining fellow prospect Joey Bart and newcomers Tyler Heineman, Rob Brantly and Chadwick Tromp. With García on the shelf, Heineman, Brantly and Tromp are expected to compete for the chance to serve as Buster Posey’s backup this season.