Justin Charles Garza (born March 20, 1994) is an American

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Modern professiona ...

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the Baseball (ball), baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of out (baseball), retiring a batter (baseball), batter, who attempts to e ...

in the

San Francisco Giants The San Francisco Giants are an American professional baseball team based in San Francisco, California. The Giants compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1883 as the New Y ...

organization. He has previously played in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL) ...

(MLB) for the

Cleveland Indians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. Since , they have played at Progressive ...

and

Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Founded in as one of the American League's eig ...

Early life and amateur career

Garza grew up in

Ontario, California Ontario is a city in southwestern San Bernardino County in the U.S. state of California, east of downtown Los Angeles and west of downtown San Bernardino, the county seat. Located in the western part of the Inland Empire metropolitan are ...

, and attended

Bonita High School Bonita High School is a high school located in the city of La Verne, California in the foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains. Opened in 1903, it was the first high school in the Bonita Unified School District. It moved to its current campus in 19 ...

. He was named a high school All-American as a senior by ''

Baseball America ''Baseball America'' is a sports enterprise that covers baseball at every level, including MLB, with a particular focus on up-and-coming players in the MiLB, college, high school, and international leagues. It is currently published in the form ...

'' after posting a 12–1 record on the mound with a 0.72

earned run average In baseball statistics, earned run average (ERA) is the average of earned runs allowed by a pitcher per nine innings pitched (i.e. the traditional length of a game). It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the numb ...

(ERA) and 101 strikeouts over 88

innings pitched In baseball, innings pitched (IP) are the number of innings a pitcher has completed, measured by the number of batters and baserunners that are put out while the pitcher is on the pitching mound in a game. Three outs made is equal to one inning ...

. Garza was selected in the 26th round of the 2012 MLB draft by the

, but opted not to sign. Garza played college baseball for the

Cal State Fullerton Titans The Cal State Fullerton Titans (also known as CSUF or Fullerton Titans) are the athletic teams that represent California State University, Fullerton. The Titans are a member of the NCAA Division I level. The Titans compete within the Big West C ...

for three seasons. As a freshman, he went 12–0 with a 2.03 ERA and a team-leading 95 strikeouts and was named the

Big West Conference The Big West Conference (BWC) is an American collegiate athletic conference whose member institutions participate in the National Collegiate Athletic Association's Division I. The conference was originally formed on July 1, 1969, as the Pacific ...

pitcher of the year. Garza's junior season was cut short after he suffered a partially torn UCL that required

Tommy John surgery Ulnar collateral ligament reconstruction, colloquially known as Tommy John surgery (TJS), is a surgical graft procedure where the ulnar collateral ligament in the medial elbow is replaced with either a tendon from elsewhere in the patient's ...

. He finished his collegiate career with 21–7 career record with a 2.64 ERA and 208 strikeouts in innings pitched.

Professional career

Cleveland Indians/Guardians

Garza was drafted by the Cleveland Indians for a second time in the eighth round of the

2015 MLB draft Fifteen or 15 may refer to: *15 (number), the natural number following 14 and preceding 16 *one of the years 15 BC, AD 15, 1915, 2015 Music * Fifteen (band), a punk rock band Albums * ''15'' (Buckcherry album), 2005 * ''15'' (Ani Lorak albu ...

. After signing with the team, Garza spent rest of the 2015 and much of the 2016 rehabbing from his surgery before being assigned to the Arizona League Indians towards the end of the season. In 2017, Garza pitched for the Single-A Lake County Captains, posting a 4–6 record and 5.83 ERA in 26 appearances. In 2018, Garza split the season between the Low-A Mahoning Valley Scrappers and the High-A Lynchburg Hillcats of the

Carolina League The Carolina League is a Minor League Baseball league which has operated along the Atlantic Coast of the United States since 1945. Having been classified at various levels throughout its existence, it operated at Class A-Advanced from 1990 un ...

, accumulating a 5–6 record and 3.36 ERA in 18 games between the two teams. In 2019, Garza returned to Lynchburg, and pitched to a 6–9 record and 4.99 ERA with 109 strikeouts in 119 innings of work. Garza did not play in a game in 2020 due to the cancellation of the minor league season because of the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identified ...

. To begin the 2021 season, he was assigned to the

Akron RubberDucks The Akron RubberDucks are a Minor League Baseball team based in Akron, Ohio. The team, which plays in the Eastern League, is the Double-A affiliate of the Cleveland Guardians. They play in Canal Park, located in downtown Akron, which seats 7,6 ...

of the

Double-A Northeast AA, Aa, Double A, or Double-A may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * ''America's Army'', a 2002 computer game published by the U.S. Army * '' Ancient Anguish'', a computer game in existence since 1992 * Aa!, a J-Pop musical group * Dou ...

before being promoted to the Triple-A

Columbus Clippers The Columbus Clippers are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the Cleveland Guardians. They are located in Columbus, Ohio, and are named for speedy merchant sailing vessels known as clipp ...

after one appearance. In 12 games with Columbus, Garza notched a stellar 0.44 ERA with 28 strikeouts. The Indians selected Garza's contract and promoted him to the major leagues for the first time on June 24, 2021. Garza made his major league debut on June 27, and pitched innings of one-run relief with three strikeouts against the

Minnesota Twins The Minnesota Twins are an American professional baseball team based in Minneapolis. The Twins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central Division. The team is named after the Twin Cities area ...

in an 8–2 loss. Garza earned his first career win on July 31, 2021, after pitching two innings of scoreless relief in a 12–11 victory over the

Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team is owned by Jerry Reinsdorf, and ...

. Garza was

designated for assignment Designated for assignment (DFA) is a contractual term used in Major League Baseball (MLB). A player who is designated for assignment is immediately removed from the team's 40-man roster, after which the team must within seven days, return the play ...

by the newly-named Cleveland Guardians on November 19, 2021. After clearing waivers, he was outrighted to the Triple-A

on November 24, 2021. In 37 relief outings for Columbus, Garza recorded a 4.64 ERA with 50 strikeouts and 7 saves across innings pitched. He elected minor league free agency after the season on November 10, 2022.

Los Angeles Angels

On December 12, 2022, Garza signed a one-year major league deal with the

Los Angeles Angels The Los Angeles Angels are an American professional baseball team based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Angels compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. Since 1966, the team ha ...

. Garza was optioned to the Triple-A Salt Lake Bees to start the 2023 season. He made six appearances for Salt Lake, posting a 4.32 ERA with 5 strikeouts in innings pitched before he was designated for assignment on April 21, 2023.

Boston Red Sox

On April 28, 2023, Garza was claimed off waivers by the

and was optioned to the Triple-A Worcester Red Sox. He was added to Boston's active roster on May 16, and optioned back to Worcester on July 8. Later in July, he was briefly called up for two days. In 17 games for Boston, he struggled to a 7.36 ERA with 17 strikeouts across innings of work. Following the season on November 2, Garza was removed from the 40–man roster and sent outright to Triple–A Worcester. He rejected the assignment and elected free agency on November 6.

San Francisco Giants

On March 7, 2024, Garza signed a minor league contract with the

References

External links

Cal State Fullerton Titans bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Garza, Justin 1994 births Living people Akron RubberDucks players Arizona League Indians players Baseball players from Ontario, California Boston Red Sox players Cal State Fullerton Titans baseball players Cleveland Indians players Columbus Clippers players Glendale Desert Dogs players Lake County Captains players Lynchburg Hillcats players Mahoning Valley Scrappers players Major League Baseball pitchers Sacramento River Cats players Salt Lake Bees players Worcester Red Sox players