With just three weeks to go now before the start of the regular season, one decorated MLB player is facing some health uncertainty.
Texas Rangers outfielder Adolis Garcia was scratched from Tuesday’s spring training game against the Athletics due to left oblique discomfort. Texas manager Bruce Bochy told reporters that Garcia is set to undergo an MRI and will miss some time.
The righty-hitting Garcia, 32, is a beloved Ranger who has been with the team since 2020. During their World Series title in 2023, Garcia was a big-time performer for Texas and won ALCS MVP due to his many heroics.
Garcia has also achieved plenty of other accolades during his time in Texas. He has made All-Star teams in 2021 and 2023, won a Gold Glove in right field in 2023, and was named to the All-MLB Second Team that year as well.
But Garcia is coming off somewhat of a down season in 2024 (which was a down season for the Rangers as a whole). He posted a full-season career-low batting average of .224 and an ugly slugging percentage of .400 (though Garcia did still produce 25 home runs and 85 RBIs in 154 games played).
The last that we heard of Garcia was a couple of weeks ago when a photo of him became a funny meme online. But an oblique injury is no laughing matter, and now the Rangers may have to brace for the possibility of opening the 2025 season with Evan Carter or even Josh H. Smith as their starting right fielder.
