Adolis Garcia must improve in this area for a Rangers bounceback in 2025

Stars must step up and help their team over the course of a long 162-game season. The Texas Rangers could have used better showings from a number of All-Star talents last year, but there was one 2023 Postseason hero who fell particularly short.

Rangers outfielder Adolis Garcia has already cemented his place in franchise history. But, after a surprisingly poor 2024, it is clear that he will have to make certain adjustments to ensure a strong 2025 campaign.

The slugger could benefit from a more disciplined approach that chooses to embrace quality over quantity. He will also have to ensure that he is healthy and able to compete regularly.

Adolis Garcia must improve in this area for a Rangers bounceback in 2025

Across 154 games last year, Garcia hit 25 home runs, collected 85 RBIs, and had a .684 OPS. All of these stats were lower than what he was able to post in 2023.

Any chance for a resurgence will rely on Garcia's health. The 31-year-old was recently cleared to resume running after dealing with a sprained left patella tendon in September. But, it is worth noting that his poor marks from last season were probably not due to any lingering health concerns.

"He had a great season health wise,” Chris Young said in October. "At the end of the season, he felt a little bit of the knee issue, which was similar to -- on a lesser scale -- where it was last year, when he missed some time. This is something he's going to manage moving forward. I think this year, we did a great job of being able to manage that."

A look at the veteran's advanced metrics points to an area of concern that Garcia could address. In 2024, he earned a 1st Pitch Swing% of 41.6. This was up more than 8% from his 2023 mark. The righty also saw less pitches in the strike zone and experienced an increase in his Chase%.

It may benefit Garcia to take a more relaxed approach at the dish. He is not the kind of player who is purely about "making contact." He needs to make hard contact in order to reach his ceiling, and he could benefit from taking more pitches and forcing the opposition to challenge him deep in counts.

The Ciego de Avila native saw less pitches per plate appearance in 2024 than he did in 2023. It is evident that he may have started pressing or simply searching for something too early.

The Rangers are banking on many players to show improvement next season. A productive and more patient version of Adolis Garcia could go a long way towards a potential Postseason berth.