Rico Garcia does not have to go very far.
The Yankees claimed the right-handed reliever off of waivers from the Mets on Monday, adding another arm to a bullpen depleted by injuries.
Garcia, 31, threw 4.2 scoreless innings over two appearances with the Mets, including a two-inning appearance against the Yankees on July 6 at Citi Field.
His fastball repeatedly hit 96-98 mph during that outing.
Garcia pitched to 4.45 ERA with 37 strikeouts in 30.1 innings with Triple-A Syracuse before the Mets called him up this month, but because Garcia is out of minor-league options, he will need to be on the Yankees’ 26-man roster.
The Mets, whose own rash of pitching injuries has prompted constant roster reshuffling, designated Garcia for assignment on Friday.
In 32 career MLB appearances, Garcia owns a 6.47 ERA with 24 strikeouts in 40.1 innings. He previously pitched for the Colorado Rockies, San Francisco Giants, Baltimore Orioles, A’s and Washington Nationals over parts of five seasons.
Garcia joins a Yankees bullpen that lost Jake Cousins to season-ending elbow surgery and that currently has Mark Leiter Jr. (stress fracture in leg) and Yerry De los Santos (elbow discomfort) on the injured list.
Jonathan Loáisiga, meanwhile, has struggled in his return from elbow surgery, pitching to a 5.01 ERA over 22 appearances.
The Yankees’ bullpen has a 4.82 ERA over the last 29 games, up from its 3.78 ERA mark over the first 67.
“We’ve had a little bit of attrition here and gotten a little bit short in the pen the last few weeks, and that’s been a little bit of a challenge, especially as we went through a long stretch of a lot of games,” manager Aaron Boone said after Sunday’s 4-1 loss to the Chicago Cubs.
“We’ve got to make sure we shore that up and continue to get guys in good roles down there.”
Last week, general manager Brian Cashman said he would like to import “some relievers” before the July 31 trade deadline.
