No more ace up M’s sleeve
The Chicago White Sox acquired All-Star pitcher Freddy Garcia from the Seattle Mariners on Sunday, bolstering their rotation for the AL Central race.
The White Sox gave up young catcher Miguel Olivo, top prospect Jeremy Reed and minor league infielder Michael Morse in the trade. Chicago also gets catcher Ben Davis and cash from the Mariners.
“It’s hard for me to leave,” Garcia said. “I do love playing here.”
Garcia, who can become a free agent after this season, will pitch for White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen, one of his best friends.
“You’ve got to be a professional. Everybody knows he’s my friend, but I want to do business,” Garcia said. “I’ll go there and pitch the way I can pitch.”
Garcia was 4-7 with a 3.20 ERA in 15 starts for last-place Seattle this season. The two-time All-Star is 76-50 in his six-year career with a 3.89 ERA.
“We have an opportunity to challenge for the division in a better way,” White Sox general manager Ken Williams said.
The 25-year-old Olivo, who is batting .270, hit his seventh homer of the season off Cubs right-hander Greg Maddux on Sunday. He has good speed and a strong arm.
Olivo was too upset after the game to comment, a team spokesman said.
“It was one of the hardest conversations I’ve ever had with a player,” Williams said.
Garcia, 27, was one of the top pitchers available on the trade market. The right-hander should help solidify a rotation that already includes Esteban Loaiza, who won 21 games last season, and Mark Buehrle.
“I’m really glad to have him, but we are going to lose one of my favorite players in Olivo,” Guillen said. “Hopefully, when Freddy comes to town, he can help us to do what we want to do. We picked up some good players.”
The White Sox have struggled with their No. 5 starters all season. Jon Rauch’s win over Cleveland last week was their first from that spot after eight losses.
No. 3 starter Scott Schoeneweis is on the disabled list with a sore elbow, and Buehrle has been hit hard in his last two starts.
“It caught me by surprise. I know we’ve been trying to get another pitcher in here, but I never thought Miguel was going to be the one who’s going to go away,” White Sox shortstop Jose Valentin said.
The 23-year-old Reed has eight homers and 37 RBIs as an outfielder for Triple-A Charlotte. He was drafted by the White Sox in 2002 and is a career .334 hitter in the minors. Morse was batting .287 at Double-A Birmingham.
Padres 5, Mariners 1
Jeff Cirillo hit a three-run homer against his former team and Adam Eaton pitched into the seventh inning, leading the San Diego Padres to a 5-1 win over the Seattle Mariners on Sunday at Safeco Field.
Eaton (4-7) worked 6 1/3 solid innings, allowing one run on three hits with four strikeouts and two walks as the Padres won two in the three-game series.
Cirillo put San Diego up 3-0 in the second, driving the first pitch he saw from Jamie Moyer (6-4) an estimated 413 feet to left field.
The Mariners didn’t help themselves in the field, with two errors leading to two San Diego runs.
Eaton, who grew up in Snohomish, Wash., improved to 4-1 in June. Before that, he had lost six straight decisions.
“There were quite a few people from Snohomish, and quite a few people I knew growing up were here today,” Eaton said. “It was nice to pitch in front of them.”