Bio
Roy Garcia comes to Sioux City after spending parts of seven seasons with the St. Louis Cardinals organization. The right-hander reached AA for St. Louis and spent all of 2024 at high-A Peoria in the Midwest League. He appeared in 31 games—all in relief—going 4-1 with one save in 51 innings. Garcia would strike out 59 while issuing 25 walks and surrendering 25 earned runs on 48 hits. He would finish with a 1.431 WHIP on the season while finishing fourth on the team in games pitched in 2024. Following the 2024 summer season, Garcia played (this past winter) with Leones de Barranquilla of the Colombian Winter League. He pitched in four games, making three starts while going 0-2 with a 9.95 ERA in 12.2 innings.
In 2023 Garcia made three stops in the Cardinals system. He would open the season in the Florida State League with the A-level Palm Beach Cardinals. Garcia pitched in 17.2 innings with 20 strikeouts in 10 games out of the Cardinals bullpen. He yielded four earned runs on 15 hits with a 1-1 record and four saves, posting a 2.04 ERA. Garcia earned a promotion to high-A Peoria on May 25 and pitched in 15 games over 24 innings, going 5-1 in relief and notching another four saves. He struck out 32 with just seven walks, giving up five earned runs on 15 hits with a 0.917 WHIP. Garcia would earn another promotion to AA Springfield in the Texas League on July 9 where he would go 2-2 with one save for the Cardinals. He finished with an 8.46 ERA, giving up 21 earned runs in 24 innings while surrendering 30 hits with 16 walks and striking out 27. Garcia finished the 2023 season with a combined 8-4 record with a 4.22 ERA in 64 innings with 79 strikeouts, nine saves, and a 1.484 WHIP. Garcia would pitch another 4.2 innings with Caribes de Anzoategui of the Venezuelan Winter League during the winter season of 2023-2024.
Garcia spent all of 2022 with Palm Beach in the Florida State League, going 4-6 in 29 games and making one start with eight saves while putting up a 5.66 ERA in 55.2 innings. Garcia finished second on the club in saves and innings pitched by a reliever on the Cardinals pitching staff. He would strike out 71 batters, surrendering 35 earned runs on 46 hits with 32 walks—good for a 1.401 WHIP.
The 2021 season saw Garcia pitch for two teams in the St. Louis minor league system. He opened the season with the Cardinals in the rookie-level Florida Complex League. Garcia came out of the pen 10 times, totaling 19 innings with 23 strikeouts. He would go 3-0 in relief with a 1.42 ERA, only giving up three earned runs on 11 hits with three walks—garnering a 0.737 WHIP. Garcia would make the jump to the Florida State League on August 27, appearing in six games in relief, tossing seven innings with six punchouts. He walked four and allowed six earned runs on nine hits in his short stay at Palm Beach.
Garcia did not pitch in 2020 due to the world-wide pandemic, but he spent the entire 2019 season in the Gulf Coast Rookie League, pitching in 14 games and making two starts. For the season, the right-hander tossed 26 innings, surrendering 25 runs on 32 hits with 24 walks while striking out 28. Garcia would notch three saves while going 2-5 with a 8.65 ERA.
Garcia spent 2018 and 2017 in his native Dominican Republic, pitching for the Cardinals club in the Dominican Summer League. In 2018 he went 1-2 in 19 relief appearances, pitching in 33.1 innings for the Cardinals Red in the DSL. Garcia struck out 38 batters and walked 43, yielding 31 earned runs on 30 hits and posting an 8.37 ERA and one save. He made his pro debut as a 16-year-old in the DSL in 2017. He pitched in 20 games—the second most on the team—going 2-4 with a 7.44 ERA over 32.2 innings. He added 28 strikeouts while walking 22, giving up 27 earned runs on 38 hits in his first professional season.
Garcia was signed as an international free agent on September 6, 2016, just after his 16th birthday and would debut for St. Louis in the DSL the next season. He was born in Nagua, Dominican Republic and will turn 25 on August 28 during the 2025 season.