The St. Louis Cardinals made a roster decision in 2019 that is now coming back to haunt them after Texas Rangers star Adolis Garcia became the hero of the ALCS.
Garcia was crowned MVP of the ALCS after a monstrous showing in the 7-game series against the Houston Astros. But not long ago, Garcia was just trying to secure a roster spot on the Cardinals.
The Cardinals designated Garcia for assignment before the 2020 season to make room for left-handed pitcher Kwang Hyun Kim. The post on X of the team announcing Garcia’s DFA has since gone viral. It has nearly 400,000 views as of writing.
— Baseball Images that Precede Unfortunate Events (@UnfortunateMLB) October 24, 2023
Garcia played in 21 games for St. Louis in the 2018 season. He went 2-of-17 for a brutal batting average of .118. By comparison, Kim went 10-7 with a 2.97 ERA in 145.2 career innings with the Cardinals before returning to South Korea.
Garcia has been with the Rangers since 2020. He has a batting average of .246 with 97 home runs over his past three regular season campaigns in Texas. Garcia was named an All-Star in 2021 and 2023.
Garcia increased his batting average to .357 with 5 home runs in the ALCS. He ended the series in style with 4 hits and 10 total bases in the Game 7 win that had Rangers fans taking over Minute Maid Park.
Maybe the Cardinals would want that move back.
