How Diamondbacks' Young Reliever is Finding His Way

The Arizona Diamondbacks are a team full of young, growing players. As the season begins to wind down, the final month-plus of games has and will continue to be somewhat of an audition opportunity for many of these players.

Left-handed reliever Brandyn Garcia was the latest to deliver an encouraging performance.

On Sunday, he threw an impressive 2.2 scoreless innings of relief against the potent Los Angeles Dodgers, keeping Arizona in the game and helping preserve the bullpen.

It was a step in the right direction for Garcia. He'd been knocked around in his first major league stint with the D-backs after coming over in the trade that sent Josh Naylor to the Seattle Martiners.

Garcia spent some time down in Triple-A (in which he threw to a 3.27 ERA), and returned on August 29, looking sharper and more confident.

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Garcia spoke to reporters on Monday about his latest recall.

Arizona Diamondbacks' Brandyn Garcia Discusses Role, Recall & More

Garcia said the time spent in the minor leagues helped him regain his footing after the post-Deadline whirlwind.

"That time down in Triple-A helped me a lot [to] refine [my stuff] and know that it's still in there versus when I first got up here, I was still going through the first few weeks of debuting and getting comfortable and everything," Garcia said.

"It made me feel a lot better coming back up, knowing that all the work that I put in while I was down, it was preparing me for coming back up in days like [Sunday]."

Garcia said he was able to pitch in more of a long relief role in Reno, while also working on his touch and feel.

The left-hander said he prefers throwing length when possible, noting that the "ideal plan" would be to serve as a starting pitcher. He made 25 starts in Seattle's minor league system in 2024.

"I like throwing a little bit more just because I can feel like I have more control over the game, more control over what I have going that day instead of one inning.

"Say I don't have my slider one day, it's like with those one innings I had to be able to figure it out on the run, but with more length it's like, 'Okay now I can play the long game rather than the short game," he said.

But Garcia assured reporters that ultimately, he's happy to perform in whatever role the D-backs might ask of him.

"I'm really comfortable in any role. ... it all is depending on what the Diamondbacks need and want, so I'm here to do whatever that is," Garcia said.

Now is the time for players like Garcia to step forward and earn their future roles. It may not be smooth the whole way, but performances like Sunday's go a long way.

Garcia noted the hungry, youthful energy in the D-backs' clubhouse.

"I feel like we're getting close. Obviously I've only been here for a couple days now, but it just feels like everybody's really close. We're all close in age and everything like that, and it's just going out there and having each other's backs," he said.

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