Garcia Swapped to Angels for Alvarez

2019 Chachi New Additions #4

2019 Chachi Departures #3

Late Thursday night, the Phillies traded long-time reliever Luis Garcia to the Angels for lefty Jose Alvarez.  Alvarez becomes the third newest member of the suddenly rebuilt Phillies bullpen, joining Juan Nicasio and James Pazos who were acquired from the Mariners on Monday.  The team is still in the hunt for a closer.

Alvarez is a six-year veteran, with all but his first season spent with the Angels.  He made his debut with the Tigers in 2013 and since then he's appeared in 284 games and pitched to a respectable 3.69 ERA.  As in the case with most middle relievers, Alvarez's baseball card appearances have been scarce.  According to the Beckett database, he's had cards in three mainstream sets to date - 2010 Topps Pro Debut, 2013 Topps Update and 2015 Topps Update.

Prior to the trade, Garcia had been the second longest tenured Phillies player behind Cesar Hernandez as both made their debuts with the club in 2013.  In parts of six seasons with the Phillies, Garcia was the very definition of hit or miss, appearing in 251 games and owning an ERA of 4.12.  One of the team's more reliable relievers in 2017, he was at times infuriating to watch last season as evidenced by his 2018 ERA of 6.07.  I have 15 Garcia baseball cards in my Phillies collection, 7 of which come from the team-issued photo card sets.

Garcia Complete Chachi Checklist
2013 Chachi #49
2014 Chachi #37
2015 Chachi #21
2016 Chachi #38
2016 Chachi Fan Appreciation Day #2
2017 Chachi #35
2017 Chachi Photo Night #12
2018 Chachi #24
2018 Chachi Phillies Phestival #4 (with Victor Arano and Austin Davis)
2019 Chachi Departures #3

Moving On - 2018-2019 Offseason

• Trevor Plouffe - inf (10/4/18) - Elected free agency.
• Jose Bautista - of (10/29/18) - Elected free agency.
• Asdrubal Cabrera - inf (10/29/18) - Elected free agency.
• Aaron Loup - lhp (10/29/18) - Elected free agency.
• Wilson Ramos - c (10/29/18) - Elected free agency.
• Pedro Beato - rhp (11/2/18) - Elected free agency.
• Jesmuel Valentin - inf (11/2/18) - Elected free agency.
• Pedro Florimon - inf/of (11/3/18) - Outrighted off 40-man roster and elected free agency.
• Luis Avilan - lhp (11/30/18) - Non-tendered, becoming a free agent.
• Justin Bour - 1b (11/30/18) - Non-tendered, becoming a free agent.
• Carlos Santana - 1b and J.P. Crawford - ss (12/3/18) - Traded to the Seattle Mariners for James Pazos, Juan Nicasio and Jean Segura.
• Luis Garcia - rhp (12/6/18) - Traded to the Los Angeles Angels for Jose Alvarez.

New Arrivals - 2018-2019 Offseason

• James Pazos - lhp, Juan Nicasio - rhp and Jean Segura - ss (12/3/18) - Acquired from the Seattle Mariners for J.P. Crawford and Carlos Santana.
• Jose Alvarez - lhp (12/6/18) - Acquired from the Los Angeles Angels for Luis Garcia.

You can find the updated Virtual Phillies Wall here, showing the team's updated 40-man roster.