Slugging outfielder might fall into Guardians' lap if trade deadline breaks correctly

In 2023, Adolis García showed all of the baseball world what “El Bombi” looks like at the height of his powers when he slugged 39 home runs in the regular season before mashing eight longballs in the postseason to go along with a record-setting 22 RBI.

While García etched his name into Texas Rangers lore with that electric postseason, the Rangers are coming off a third place finish in their division last year and entered play on Tuesday three games under .500, which could lead to the team going into full seller mode after sitting on the fence last year. 

And if the Rangers do end up selling at the trade deadline, it wouldn’t be surprising to see them dangle García in the hopes of getting a big return. And if they do dangle him, the Guardians should do everything in their power to put together a competitive offer for the slugging outfielder.

Slugging outfielder might fall into Guardians' lap if trade deadline breaks correctly

García’s name gained a bit of momentum as a trade candidate over the weekend when MLB.com’s Thomas Harrigan posted a story taking a look at some trade deadline candidates on bubble teams, where he highlighted García’s case. 

“It wouldn’t be a surprise to see Texas make the 32-year-old García available prior to his final year of arbitration eligibility in 2026,” he wrote. 

While García was one of the best hitters in baseball in 2023 and also tallied another All-Star nod in 2021, his production has tapered off this year. García entered play on Tuesday hitting just .233 with nine home runs and 37 RBI across 74 games which is good for an wRC+ of 90, meaning he’s been 10% worse than league average. 

That was also the case last year when he posted an wRC+ of 92 to go along with 25 home runs and 85 RBI while playing solely in right field. But while those numbers are technically a bit worse than league average, the Guardians would gladly welcome that kind of production from their right fielders. 

After combining for a wRC+ of 100 last year, Cleveland’s right fielders have posted a wRC+ of 49 this year, which is far and away the worst mark in MLB. Yes, Nolan Jones has been playing better as of late, but his slow start is one of the biggest reasons why the Guardians are where they are in the standings.

The same can be said for Jhonkensy Noel’s rough start to the season that resulted in him getting sent to Triple-A. 

Right now, Cleveland’s right field is a platoon between Jones and Johnathan Rodríguez, whereas García would be an everyday player, which could open up another roster spot. 

García’s still a dominant power hitter (94th percentile in exit velocity, 88th percentile in hard-hit rate and 81st percentile in barrel rate), but his strikeout rate of 24.7% is the seventh-highest among right fielders. He has his warts, but he also has light tower power and a year-and-a-half of control. 

The Guardians haven’t been able to develop the kind of everyday right fielder the team needs to succeed. It might be time for them to look elsewhere to fill that hole on their roster.