Dominican powerhouse loses reliever Jarlín García

TAMPA, Fla. -- Left hander Jarlín García will not participate in the World Baseball Classic because of left arm tightness he experienced Saturday in a Grapefruit League outing against the Phillies.

García, 30, was on the Dominican Republic roster.

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“He’s been pulled from the WBC,” Pirates manager Derek Shelton said. “We’re still going through further testing to kind of reevaluate where he’s at and how he’s doing, but we had to make sure we got him out of the WBC because of it.”

García left the game Saturday after giving up four runs in just one-third of an inning. It was his third appearance of the spring.

Shelton said there is no exact determination of the severity of the injury, but he hopes to have a better idea soon of what García is dealing with.

“We don’t have a timeline,” Shelton said. “The more information we get, we’ll have a better timeline on the injury itself.”

García signed a one-year, $2.5 million contract with the Pirates after six previous seasons split between the Marlins and Giants. He was 1-4 with a 3.74 ERA in 58 appearances with San Francisco last season.

Short start for Ortiz
In his second start of the spring, Luis Ortiz allowed seven hits and five runs in one-plus innings Monday night in the Pirates’ 9-2 loss to the Yankees. Ortiz threw 45 pitches and failed to record an out in the second inning before he was removed.

"I felt pretty good,” Ortiz said through an interpreter. “I was trying to attack the strike zone, using all my pitches. Maybe the outcome wasn't what I was expecting, but I felt good. I was able to attack hitters."

Shelton said before the game that he wanted Ortiz to focus on throwing strikes. Shelton said he wasn’t worried about Ortiz using his changeup more, but the right-hander said it’s a pitch he needs to continue to work on.

"I know I need to throw the changeup more, in the strike zone more,” Ortiz said. “I struggled a little bit with it tonight. I just have to come back tomorrow and keep working on it in the throwing program and in bullpens, and, hopefully, it will get better."