Rico Garcia has given the Orioles exactly the kind of lift they needed at exactly the right time.
For a while this season, Baltimore looked like it might have found one of the most effective relievers in baseball. Garcia came out hot over the first two months, only to see hitters catch up to him and knock him off that early pace. But with the Orioles still hanging around in the Wild Card race, he has found his way back into the role that made him so valuable in the first place.
The roughest night of his season came on August 10, when the Twins tagged Garcia for four runs on three hits before he could record an out. It was his worst appearance of the year, and it accounts for nearly twenty percent of all the earned runs he’s allowed in 2026. A yes-hitter is not exactly the type of game you want to be remembered for.
Since then, though, Garcia has been nearly impossible to shake. Over his last 17 appearances, he has allowed just one run and 10 hits across 14.2 innings. That stretch has helped steady Baltimore’s bullpen and pushed him into the team’s de facto closer role at a time when the Orioles can’t afford many more mistakes.
That kind of rebound fits the way this season has unfolded for both Garcia and the Orioles. Neither has had a smooth path. Both have been forced to keep clawing back when the odds looked ugly, and both have managed to stay alive anyway.
Garcia’s own road to Baltimore has been anything but direct. After debuting briefly with the Rockies in 2019, he bounced around before finding a little success last season with the Mets. A quick stop with the Yankees followed, and then he landed with the Orioles, where he pitched well in 20 games to close out the 2025 season.
This year, he’s been more than just a decent bullpen arm. Through 72 games, Garcia has produced 1.7 bWAR, which ranks third among Orioles pitchers. His 0.964 WHIP is the best on the staff, and his 31.9% Whiff rate shows he’s still making hitters miss and avoiding hard contact even when the results weren’t always smooth in the middle of the season.
The Orioles, meanwhile, are still alive, even if the margin is thin. As of September 15, they sit three games behind the Cleveland Guardians for the third Wild Card spot.
Time is running short, and the schedule isn’t doing them any favors. But with Garcia back in top form, Baltimore has at least checked off one major need in the bullpen.
In Other News...
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Former Orioles Prospect Chance Sisco Ends A Career Fans Once Watched Closely
Chance Sisco, once one of the more closely watched catching prospects in the Orioles system, has ended his professional baseball career. The former second-round pick announced his retirement on Instagram, closing the book on a path that included five major league seasons split between Baltimore and the Mets, plus a final stretch in independent minor league ball after his big league days wound down.
For Orioles fans who remember the buzz around his development, Siscos career still carries a few memorable touchpoints, including his stealing home in 2018. His last major league appearance came in 2021, and with his retirement now public, another name from that once-promising Baltimore pipeline has quietly moved on from the game. [Read more 🡒]