Red Sox double down on relief with last-minute trade for Luis Garcia

Red Sox chief baseball officer Craig Breslow clearly made bullpen help a priority on trade deadline day.

After acquiring Lucas Sims from the Cincinnati Reds earlier Tuesday, Boston doubled down on right-handed relievers by adding Luis Garcia from the Los Angeles Angels minutes before the 6 p.m. deadline.

Jon Heyman of the New York Post was the first to report the deal .

According to Alex Speier of the Boston Globe, the Red Sox are sending four prospects to the Angels in return, headlined by Matthew Lugo.

The Red Sox later confirmed that return, with 19-year-old Single-A pitcher Yeferson Vargas as the fourth prospect.

The 37-year-old Garcia is having one of the better seasons of his 12-year big-league career, recording a 5-1 record with a 3.71 ERA, 1.17 WHIP and 40 strikeouts in 45 appearances (43.2 innings).

Garcia previously spent time with the San Diego Padres, St. Louis Cardinals, Texas Rangers and Philadelphia Phillies. He made five postseason appearances in 2021 and 2022 with the Cardinals and then the Padres, allowing just one run across 6.1 innings.

Garcia has four saves this season and has largely been used in a setup role. Red Sox manager Alex Cora already identified Sims as a potential late-inning option during his pregame press conference Tuesday, and Garcia would certainly seem like someone who will be in that mix as well.

The Red Sox need the help, as their bullpen has struggled mightily in July. For the month, they have a 6.39 bullpen ERA and have blown eight leads in the seventh inning or later, contributing to a 3-7 record since the All-Star break entering Tuesday night.

Lugo was ranked as the Red Sox's 13th-best prospect by SoxProspects.com . The 23-year-old corner outfielder was hitting .285 with 16 home runs, 54 RBIs, 16 steals and a .942 OPS in 78 games this season split between Double-A Portland and Triple-A Worcester.

None of the other three minor-leaguers were ranked among Boston's top 30 prospects. Niko Kavadas and Ryan Zeferjahn were also in Worcester; the departure of three players there could open up spots for some of the Red Sox's top prospects in Portland to move up to Triple-A.