Texas Rangers Acquire OF Adolis Garcia in Trade with Cardinals

The Texas Rangers have traded for OF Adolis Garcia in a deal that that will send cash considerations to the St. Louis Cardinals.

It’s not quite the trade fans are hoping for (i.e. Nolan Arenado) but the Texas Rangers have acquired outfielder Adolis Garcia from the Cardinals for cash. In a corresponding move, Texas has designated Jimmy Herget for assignment despite claiming him earlier this month.

Garcia spent the 2019 season in Triple-A and batted .253 in 132 games. He hit 32 home runs at that level posting an .818 OPS. A right-handed hitter, Garcia has above-average raw power according to FanGraphs but a below average hit tool. Defensively, he spent most of his time in right field last year and based on his scouting report, may profile there long-term because of his elite arm. He does maintain plus speed and a solid glove which may allow him to move around the outfield. In 2018, he did play in 21 big league games for the Cardinals where he posted a .118 average.

At 26, he has plenty of time to grow and could give the Rangers a low-cost depth option moving forward. He’s on the 40-man roster meaning he’ll get a chance to compete for the fourth outfield spot that currently seems occupied by Scott Heineman. If not, he’ll get more time in Nashville to work on his overall game.

If Texas feels like they can improve Garcia’s hitting ability, he possesses a lot of other tools that could be intriguing. Based of the FanGraphs scouting report, he has a future grade of just 35+ which puts him somewhere in the range of a frequent flier between Triple-A and the Majors and big league bench player.

The defensive reports suggest he could be average or better throughout the outfield and he offers intriguing pop at the plate that could make him a quality fourth outfield piece long-term. If he can fix some of his struggles with swings-and-misses, he could turn into an everyday player at a corner outfield spot.