The Red Sox turned over another stone in search of pitching depth Friday.
Boston claimed right-handed pitcher Justin Garza off waivers from the Los Angeles Angels, the club announced. It’s strictly a depth move for now, as evidenced by the Red Sox optioning him to Triple-A Worcester to begin his Sox tenure. Garza fills out Boston’s 40-man roster, though.
The Angels designated him Garza for assignment before he even pitched a big league inning with them. He has 28 2/3 innings of big league experience to his name, all of those coming with Cleveland in 2021. He appeared in 21 games, allowing 15 runs while striking out 29 and walking 18.
He came up as a starter after four years at Cal State Fullerton but has been primarily used as a reliever in recent years. His best showing came in 2021 when allowed just four earned runs in 22 2/3 innings with Columbus at Triple-A. He appeared in six games this season with the Angels Triple-A affiliate in Salt Lake, allowing four runs on six hits with four walks in 8 1/3 innings.
Garza is on the smaller side, too, listed at 5-foot-10 and weighing 170 pounds. The former eighth-round pick features a fastball, cutter, slider and changeup. According to Baseball Savant, his fastball — averaging 95 mph — ranked in the 53rd percentile for velocity in 2021, though he got a better-than-average spin rate on the pitch.
