Garcia was pulled in favor of Shawn Armstrong in the ninth inning of Saturday's 7-4 win over San Diego with two outs and the bases loaded.
Garcia began the ninth inning with the most favorable save situation of a three-run lead and empty bases, but the Padres chipped away and had the winning run at the plate with two outs. Manager Bruce Bochy had seen enough and chose to go with a righty-righty matchup for what turned out to be the final batter when Armstrong got Xander Bogaerts to ground out to end the game. Garcia does have six saves this season and is still the team's top option at closer, but he doesn't have much of a previous pedigree as a closer and is more prone to decisions like this when he can't take care of things cleanly.
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Rangers' Robert Garcia: Picks up sixth save
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Garcia struck out one in a perfect 10th inning Tuesday to record his sixth save of the season in a 6-5 win over the Orioles.
Luke Jackson worked 1.1 scoreless innings in front of him to collect the win, and Garcia was dominant to secure the save -- after the phantom runner advanced to third on a sacrifice bunt, the southpaw struck out Dylan Carlson and got Jackson Holliday to fly out weakly to right field to end things, tossing seven of his nine pitches for strikes overall. Jackson appears to have worked his way back into the highest-leverage mix, collecting a win, a save and two holds over his last five appearances, but Garcia is still manager Bruce Bochy's preferred closing option for the moment despite blowing two of his last seven save chances. During that 10-appearance span, Garcia's posted a shaky 4.82 ERA, 1.61 WHIP and 11:3 K:BB in 9.1 innings.
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Rangers' Robert Garcia: Works around trouble for fifth save
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Garcia picked up the save in Friday's 3-1 win over the White Sox, giving up one hit and two walks in the ninth inning. He struck out one.
It was the fifth save of the season for Garcia, who did make things interesting by loading the bases before recording the final out of the game. The 29-year-old left-hander has begun to see an increase in save opportunities in the Texas bullpen, although the results have been shaky so far. Garcia has gone 4-for-6 in save chances over his last 6.2 innings, during which he owns an 8.10 ERA, 1.95 WHIP and 8:4 K:BB.
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Rangers' Robert Garcia: Blows save versus Rays
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Garcia (1-3) allowed three runs on four hits and a walk over two-thirds of an inning, taking the loss and a blown save in Thursday's 4-3 defeat versus the Rays.
Garcia may have been rusty, as he had not pitched since May 28 versus the Blue Jays. This was his first blown save since appearing to take over the closer role in late May, but he has allowed six runs over his his last 5.1 innings. The 28-year-old is at a 3.28 ERA, 1.18 WHIP and 23:9 K:BB while adding three saves, 10 holds and two blown saves over 24.2 innings this season. The Rangers' bullpen situation continues to be somewhat fluid, so Garcia is unlikely to suddenly lose all of his high-leverage work, but he'll need to regain his footing soon to be a long-term option in the ninth inning.
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Rangers' Robert Garcia: Grabs third save Tuesday
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Garcia picked up the save in Tuesday's 2-0 win over Toronto by throwing a scoreless ninth inning. He struck out two.
Garcia's usage is becoming noteworthy -- he worked the ninth inning in his second straight outing in place of Luke Jackson, who was called upon for the eighth frame Tuesday. Given Jackson's struggles this season -- he has a 4.86 ERA and 1.56 WHIP through 16.2 innings -- it wouldn't be surprising to see Garcia receive additional save opportunities in the future. Although the Rangers' bullpen could remain a committee approach as it pertains to ninth-inning work, Garcia sports a 2.35 ERA, 1.00 WHIP and 21:8 K:BB while converting three of his four save chances over 23 frames.
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Rangers' Robert Garcia: Registers rare save Thursday
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Garcia earned the save in Thursday's win 5-3 over the Angels, throwing a clean ninth inning and striking out one.
Garcia didn't have to do much to net his first save of the year, inducing two quick groundouts after fanning the leadoff batter on three pitches. Each of his five pitches overall landed for strikes. Closer Luke Jackson worked each of the past two days, and setup man Chris Martin was summoned to retire the top of the Angels' lineup in the eighth inning. That said, Garcia has five holds as opposed to one save in 2025, so he's unlikely to see very much ninth-inning work going forward despite producing a 2.00 ERA, 0.89 WHIP and 8:3 K:BB through nine frames of work.
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Rangers' Robert Garcia: Impressive hold in win
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Garcia struck out two over a scoreless inning to earn a hold in Wednesday's 1-0 win over the Reds.
Garcia entered with none out and a runner on first base in the seventh. After Matt McLain stole second base, the left-hander had to deal with the most dangerous part of the order and a runner in scoring position, and he was up to the challenge. Garcia struck out Elly De La Cruz and Gavin Lux swinging before inducing a harmless groundout (72.8 exit velocity). It was the third hold of the season for Garcia, whose four appearances have come in the seventh or eighth innings with Texas ahead by a run or tied.
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Rangers' Robert Garcia: Closer candidate makes debut
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Garcia walked one and struck out one over a scoreless inning in Thursday's spring game against San Diego.
Texas manager Bruce Bochy earlier in camp referred to Garcia as one of the main arms in the mix for the closer role, per Kennedi Landry of MLB.com, but the pitcher's spring debut was delayed until Thursday due to nerve irritation in his left forearm. His ratios from 2024 don't jump out, but Garcia's underlying metrics, including 98th percentile hard-hit and barrel rates and a 94th percentile chase rate, indicate he was much better than a 4.22 ERA might indicate. At this point, Garcia and Chris Martin are the leading candidates for save opportunities in the Rangers' rebuilt bullpen.
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Rangers' Robert Garcia: Facing hitters Thursday
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Garcia (forearm) will face hitters Thursday, Shawn McDonald of the Dallas Morning News reports.
Garcia is behind schedule due to some irritation in his left forearm, but he's coming along nicely in his recovery. If the southpaw gets through Thursday's session with no concerns, he could be ready to appear in a Cactus League game soon. Garcia is expected to be a high-leverage reliever for the Rangers and in the mix to earn save chances.
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Rangers' Robert Garcia: Traded to Rangers
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The Nationals traded Garcia to the Rangers on Sunday in exchange for Nathaniel Lowe, Jeff Passan of ESPN.com reports.
Garcia appeared in 72 regular-season games for the Nationals in 2024 and finished with a 4.22 ERA, 1.19 WHIP and 75:16 K:BB across 59.2 innings while notching 13 holds. Garcia gives the Rangers a high-leverage, left-handed option out of the bullpen for the 2025 campaign.
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Nationals' Robert Garcia: Collects second win
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Garcia (2-3) picked up the win Sunday over the Reds, walking one and striking out one in a scoreless eighth inning.
The southpaw preserved a 2-2 tie in the top of the eighth and then got rewarded when rookie James Wood launched a three-run homer in the bottom of the frame. Garcia has been scored upon only once in his last 14 appearances dating back to June 16, delivering a 2.92 ERA, 0.89 WHIP and 21:4 K:BB over 12.1 innings during that stretch while recording three holds and both his wins.
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Nationals' Robert Garcia: Taking on high-leverage role
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Garcia has posted a 4.68 ERA, 1.32 WHIP and 47:11 K:BB through 32.2 innings with one win and 11 holds in 41 appearances.
The 28-year-old southpaw's ratios on the season aren't impressive, but they disguise the improvements he's made of late. Garcia has been scored upon only once in his last 12 trips to the mound, delivering a 0.97 WHIP and 19:3 K:BB through 10.1 innings during that stretch. He's the only left-hander in the Nationals' bullpen at the moment, but Garcia is emerging as a reliable high-leverage option for manager Dave Martinez, which should lead to more holds in the second half.
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Nationals' Robert Garcia: Activated from injured list
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The Nationals activated Garcia (illness) from the 15-day injured list Tuesday, Andrew Golden of The Washington Post reports.
Garcia was down for a couple weeks with the flu but is ready to roll now after making just one rehab appearance. The 27-year-old has allowed six runs but has struck out 13 over 8.1 relief innings with the Nats this season.
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Nationals' Robert Garcia: Goes on IL with illness
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The Nationals placed Garcia on the 15-day injured list, retroactive to April 21, with the flu, Andrew Golden of The Washington Post reports.
There's been a bug going around the Nationals' clubhouse and Garcia got it bad enough to force an IL stint. He'll be eligible to return May 7 and seems likely to be back at that time.
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Nationals' Robert Garcia: Placed on paternity list
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The Nationals placed Garcia on the paternity list Friday, Andrew Golden of The Washington Post reports.
Garcia is allowed to miss up to three games as he spends time with his expanding family, which would keep him out for the rest of the year. Tanner Rainey (elbow) was reinstated from the 60-day IL in a corresponding move and will take Garcia's place in the bullpen.
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Nationals' Robert Garcia: Collects first big-league win
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Garcia (1-2) picked up the win in Sunday's extra-innings victory over the Brewers, allowing one hit and two walks over two scoreless innings. He struck out one.
Working the 10th and 11th frames, Garcia kept the phantom runner from crossing the plate each time and got rewarded with his first MLB win. The rookie left-hander has been a solid addition to the Nationals' bullpen since being picked up from the Marlins on waivers, posting a 4.33 ERA, 1.15 WHIP and 29:10 K:BB through 27 innings.
