Freddy Garcia reportedly signs minor-league deal with Dodgers

A familiar face might be making a return to a major league mound near you in 2015.

Veteran right-hander Freddy Garcia signed a minor-league deal with the Los Angeles Dodgers on Monday according to MLB.com’s Ken Gurnick.

Garcia, 38, was last seen in the big leagues in 2013 when he split time between Baltimore and Atlanta and even made a postseason start for the Braves. He spent all of 2014 pitching in Taiwan for the EDA Rhinos after he was released in spring training that year by Atlanta.

[Yahoo Sports Fantasy Baseball: Sign up and join a league today!]

With No. 3 starter Hyun-Jin Ryu currently sidelined due to discomfort in his throwing shoulder, the Dodgers were looking to add to their starting pitching depth. Since there are already a couple hurlers ahead of him in the rotation replacement queue, Garcia is expected to start the season at Triple-A Oklahoma City and be ready for action if called upon down the road.

Fun fact: Garcia made the first of his two All-Star game appearances in 2001. How many active major leaguers also played in that All-Star game? The answer is three: Garcia’s former Seattle Mariners teammates, Alex Rodriguez and Ichiro, as well as an up-and-coming rookie slugger then with the St. Louis Cardinals, Albert Pujols. At the time Pujols had 21 career home runs. He now has 520.

[Baseball is back! Check out Yahoo For Spring Training for great spring training pics.]

If that doesn’t make you feel old, I don’t know what will, but good on Garcia for getting another shot to play at the game’s highest level.

More MLB coverage from Yahoo Sports:

– – – – – – –

Israel Fehr is a writer for Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter. Follow @israelfehr