Outfielder Avisail Garcia underwent surgical procedure to deal with each a fracture and a disc concern in his decrease again at the moment, in line with a report from The New York Put up’s Jon Heyman. A timetable for his restoration was not offered.
The information comes just some months after the Marlins determined to launch the veteran outfielder partway by way of the third season of his four-year, $53MM cope with the membership. It turned 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 as a result of hamstring points close to the top of that 12 months, and a mixture 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 sector over the previous two seasons, as properly. 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 taking part in time to younger gamers. With that being stated, information of Garcia’s surgical procedure gives an fascinating little bit of context to his deep struggles with the Marlins—significantly given the truth that he missed three months as a result of a again harm in 2023.
Given the period of time Garcia spent on the IL throughout his tenure in Miami, it’s not exhausting to think about his again and hamstring points performed a big function in his sudden decline. In any case, 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 monitor report of strong manufacturing courting again half a decade at that time. After typically being a beneath 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 resolution to half methods with him, nevertheless it’s doable that information of his again surgical procedure may result in curiosity from golf equipment who marvel if he may be capable to regain a few of his outdated kind if he’s now correctly wholesome. That’s probably a long-shot to come back to move with Garcia staring personal his age-34 season after three straight unproductive campaigns, nevertheless 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 massive league minimal whereas the Marlins pay out his $12MM wage for 2025.
