Texas Rangers: Mercedes’ retirement puts Adolis Garcia’s emergence in perspective

The Texas Rangers and the rest of the baseball world received some shocking news Wednesday night, as Chicago White Sox’ April sensation Yermin Mercedes abruptly announced his “indefinite” departure from baseball.

This sudden news comes after Mercedes had been tearing it up in AAA this summer after a stint in April in which he was the talk of the game, posting a .368/.417/.571 slash line to begin the season, including going 8-for-8 to begin his MLB career.

Yermin Mercedes’ retirement should make Texas Rangers fans even more appreciative of Adolis Garcia’s stardom

The move is yet to be made official, but Mercedes is indicating that the end of his baseball career has arrived, for now. The 28-year-old was notoriously benched by White Sox manager Tony La Russa back in May for swinging at a 3-0 pitch in a blowout game back on May 18 and got in a funk soon after.

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A case of old man yells at cloud. This time, though, the joke’s on us as fans of baseball.

It’s a rather sudden development after the rookie catcher Mercedes was thought of as an early Rookie of the Year candidate in the American League, along with Texas Rangers’ sensation Adolis Garcia.

Rangers nation will remember Garcia debuted in May and won AL Rookie of the Month after bursting on the scene himself, en route to his first All-Star selection this July.

With 22 home runs and an .810 OPS, “El Bombi” is still having a great season. His success has clearly lasted longer than that of Yermin Mercedes at the big league level. Bombi also looks to be the frontrunner for the AL Rookie of the Year award that Mercedes was once in consideration for.

But this is a lesson in not taking greatness for granted. The Chicago White Sox thought they had a hidden gem in Mercedes, and now it appears they’ve lost him.

The Texas Rangers should be counting their lucky stars that Garcia has continued to produce this season and that he hasn’t lost the motivation to keep playing baseball. And the Rangers have had plenty of major league busts in their franchise history.

It all goes to show that when players like Adolis Garcia and Yermin Mercedes burst onto the scene, we should cherish those moments, because we never know how long they’ll last.

We’re fortunate that our breakout star is continuing to find success, and hopefully has a long and fruitful MLB career. And the Yermin Mercedes reported retirement should put Adolis Garcia’s emergence into perspective for all Texas Rangers fans.