Outfielder Avisail Garcia underwent surgical procedure to deal with each a fracture and a disc problem in his decrease again as we speak, in accordance with a report from The New York Publish’s Jon Heyman. A timetable for his restoration was not offered.
The information comes only a few months after the Marlins determined to launch the veteran outfielder partway via the third season of his four-year, $53MM cope with the membership. It grew to become clear nearly instantly that the deal was a mistake on the a part of the Marlins as Garcia’s first season in Miami noticed him hit a paltry .224/.266/.317 (61 wRC+) in 380 journeys to the plate. He spent practically two months on the IL attributable to hamstring points close to the top of that 12 months, and a mix of again and hamstring points restricted the veteran to only 169 journeys to the plate over the subsequent two seasons previous to his launch.
Garcia had struggled badly all through his restricted time on the sphere over the previous two seasons, as effectively. In these aforementioned 169 plate appearances, he struck out at a 30.8% clip whereas slashing simply .203/.246/.335 (53 wRC+). These ghastly numbers have been actually greater than sufficient justification for the Marlins to maneuver on from the veteran and dedicate his enjoying time to younger gamers. With that being mentioned, information of Garcia’s surgical procedure gives an attention-grabbing little bit of context to his deep struggles with the Marlins—significantly given the truth that he missed three months attributable to a again damage in 2023.
Given the period of time Garcia spent on the IL throughout his tenure in Miami, it’s not laborious to think about his again and hamstring points performed a big position in his sudden decline. In spite of everything, the outfielder was coming off a powerful platform season the place he posted a 115 wRC+ and slugged 29 homers for the Brewers. On high of that, Garcia had a observe document of stable manufacturing courting again half a decade at that time. After typically being a under common hitter early in his profession, from 2017 to 2021 Garcia slashed .278/.335/.464 (113 wRC+) whereas oscillating between being roughly league common and above common with the bat relying on the 12 months.
Garcia didn’t signal with one other membership this 12 months following Miami’s determination to half methods with him, however it’s doable that information of his again surgical procedure may result in curiosity from golf equipment who surprise if he may be capable of regain a few of his previous kind if he’s now correctly wholesome. That’s possible a long-shot to come back to cross with Garcia staring personal his age-34 season after three straight unproductive campaigns, however it’s nonetheless possible to think about a membership taking a no-risk minor league flier on him this offseason. If Garcia have been to make an MLB roster subsequent 12 months, his new membership would solely be on the hook for a pro-rated portion of the large league minimal whereas the Marlins pay out his $12MM wage for 2025.
