SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — Maybe the Rangers can finally collect on the small debt they are owed. After all, it’s been nearly 35 years since Nolan Ryan watched a struggling young Seattle starter throw a bullpen, offered some advice to the kid afterward and watched Randy Johnson transform into a Hall of Famer overnight.
Maybe 10 days of exposure to Mariners closer Andres Muñoz can do the same thing for Rangers aspiring closer Robert Garcia.
At least that’s how it sounded when Garcia explained his version of being teammates with Muñoz for Team Mexico in the WBC. Though Mexico’s failure to advance past pool play was a disappointment, the tournament experience was a life-changing moment for Garcia. The crowds supporting Mexico at Houston’s Daikin Park were raucous, loud and proud. The bonding over culture between players representing Mexico was amazing. Memories that will last. But his time around Muñoz might have a more significant impact on his career.
“It was huge,” Garcia said. “I said, going in there, he was someone that I felt had a lot of really good information that would be a good person to learn from. He was like, ‘I will always be an open book to help you.’ He gave me his number. He told me [Edwin] Diaz and [Aroldis] Chapman were those guys for him. He said you need to learn from other guys. You can’t just learn from experience.”
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The Rangers still very much do not have a closer. On Friday, they DFA’d the guy with the most closing experience on the roster, Alexis Diaz. They will likely give Chris Martin chances to close early, when he’s available. Martin, 39, pitched on back-to-back days only 12 times last year. Garcia, who had a brief spin as the Rangers closer last year, would likely get chances when Martin doesn’t early in the season. Garcia, 29, would likely be the next guy to get chances, particularly if a team has a stretch of lefties coming up in the ninth.
Garcia presents some attractive traits. He did pick up nine saves last year in his first-ever exposure to pitching in the ninth inning and tied for the team “lead” in saves with nine. He was durable, appearing in 71 games last year, second only to Hoby Milner on the roster. He’s appeared in at least 70 games in consecutive seasons, making him one of only six pitchers to meet that threshold. And he was more available to go on consecutive days, a key asset a full-time closer must possess; he pitched 16 times on back-to-back days. Did it 25 times the year before in Washington.
But, ultimately, above all else, a closer has to convert regularly and shake off occasional — but inevitable — failures quickly. While Garcia and Muñoz talked of attacking the strike zone and self-trust, they spent more time on the subject of bouncing back from failure than anything else.
Funny the way they broke the ice there, too. Muñoz had plenty of thoughts on handling the failures, considering he’s been in the situation before. He also had a unique perspective on Garcia’s biggest struggles last year, since he was across the field watching it from the other bullpen.
Seattle Mariners relief pitcher Andres Munoz celebrates after a a baseball game against the Houston Astros, Sunday, July 21, 2024, in Seattle.
Stephen Brashear / AP
On Aug. 1 last year, after the Rangers fortified their bullpen on the fly at the trade deadline, Garcia took the mound against the Mariners with a one-run lead and a chance to tie Seattle in the wild card standings. Five pitches later — a single and a walkoff homer by J.P. Crawford — and Garcia trudged off the mound the loser. The next night, the Rangers sent him out with a two-run lead in the 10th only to have him allow a game-tying homer to Randy Arozarena. Two nights. Eight pitches. Nobody retired. Two blown saves.
“He said ‘I felt for you there’,” Garcia said. “He knew exactly what I was talking about on failure. He said he’s seen it, done it and experienced it. It’s the worst. And sometimes you think: ‘Oh my God; like I can’t do it again. I can’t do this.’ And you stray from the right mindset. So it was about keeping it one day at a time and understanding that very day is a new day.
“He was like ‘Dude, there’s not one guy that I’ve talked to that pitched in the ninth and didn’t have a little bit of nerves going in there. That’s normal.’ Just understand that all you have to do is execute pitches; that’s your job. Once I heard that from him, from a guy who has had a lot of success there, I think that calmed any anxieties I had going into the WBC and about pitching in leverage situations. It was a huge weight off my shoulders.”
It’s the kind of conversation that a coach could have with a player or even a starter, but it’s not going to carry the same weight as a message delivered by a peer and All-Star-level closer at the top of his game. It just hits harder that way. And the Rangers don’t have a guy like that in camp.
So, yeah, Garcia will remember getting the win in Mexico’s opening win against Great Britain. He’ll remember pitching a scoreless ninth against Team USA. And he’ll remember giving up Vinny Pasquantino’s third homer of the game in the tournament-ending loss to Italy.
He returns to the Rangers thankful for real high-leverage opportunities during spring training. He returns ever thankful for his time around Muñoz.
And if Garcia does take the next step in his career, maybe that will even things up between the Rangers and Mariners in the career-transforming talk department.
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