Wait, Freddy, you can’t quit — because YOU’RE FIRED!

The Freddy Garcia Experiment has officially ended, as the Mets released the righthander.

Hat tip to Walnutz.

Garcia never could get his velocity back up to a point where he could succeed at the MLB level — which is a major problem for someone who spent his career as a power pitcher. He might have been able to convert into a crafty competitor, but not throwing 83-84 MPH — only Jamie Moyer gets away with that.

Regardless of the outcome, I still believe that this was a sound gamble on the part of the Mets. In the end it cost them only a minor league contract packed with incentives that never were reached.

Look at it this way: the Mets spent very little in gambling on Livan Hernandez and Freddy Garcia, and so far their success rate is 50%. Also consider that they have very little in the way of MLB-ready starting pitching prospects, so it’s not as if Garcia was stealing innings from anyone. If anything, Dillon Gee and Jonathan Niese probably need to be back down at AA — both are struggling mightily in Buffalo.

By the way – taking Garcia’s place on the roster is Nelson Figueroa, who is pitching tonight against Kevin Mulvey of the Rochester Red Wings.

In Adam Rubin’s column today, it was suggested that the Mets might shake up the starting pitching rotation, and/or consider adding an eighth reliever to fit the role of long man:

Manuel mentioned after the Mets’ fourth straight loss that the club may be forced to add an eighth reliever, to guard against overworking the current bullpen with the starting pitchers not going deep enough into games.

Hmm … who might the Mets have who can fill that role?

Although official word has not yet been published, inside sources suggest that Nelson Figueroa has elected free agency rather than accept a demotion to AAA Buffalo. **UPDATE: Adam Rubin has been given similar information. **

Hat tip to loyal MetsToday reader HDarvick for the scoop.

Figueroa was waived by the Mets after pitching six strong innings in a start against the Brewers last weekend, filling in for the ailing Mike Pelfrey. While he wasn’t claimed by another MLB team, I imagine he has some options — the Angels, for one, immediately come to mind as a team in need of starting pitching.

It’s hard to blame Figgy for declining the opportunity to return to balmy Buffalo. First, because it’s Buffalo. Second, it’s hard to imagine what more Figueroa could have done to earn a spot on the big league roster — if his stellar WBC performance and strong start on Saturday weren’t enough, then it’s clear the Mets don’t value his skillset, so why hang around? Third, the Mets have over $3M invested in Tim Redding and Freddy Garcia, both of whom are expected to be ready in the next few weeks — so the chance of Figueroa getting the call the next time a spot start is needed is next to nil.

If indeed Nelson chooses free agency over assignment to the minors, I wish him the best of luck. He’s a good man who gets the most out of his abilities and deserves a fair chance to stick in MLB.