The Rangers announced this morning that they’ve activated outfielder Adolis Garcia from the injured list. Dustin Harris was optioned to Triple-A Round Rock to create a spot on the active roster.
Garcia, 32, has spent the entire month so far on the injured list due to a quad strain. The veteran has had a tough year this season, hitting just .235/.277/.408 with a wRC+ of 87. While he’s hit 18 homers with 13 steals and even posted a career-low 24.8% strikeout rate, walking at just a 5.1% clip with his lowest hard contact rate since he became a regular player in 2021 has led Garcia to post below-average numbers for a second straight season.
While Garcia’s numbers haven’t been anywhere near the level they were from 2021-23, when he made two All-Star appearances and won a World Series with Texas, he’s actually improved to around league average as the season has gone on. Since June, Garcia is hitting .254/.292/.432 with a wRC+ of 99, That’s unlikely to be enough production to stop Garcia from being a non-tender candidate this winter, but with the Rangers still hanging on in the playoff picture it’s valuable to get a league average bat with power and speed back into the lineup for the final weeks of the season.
Garcia is in the lineup and batting fourth today, and he’ll likely push Michael Helman and Alejandro Osuna into a platoon with each other going forward. With the Rangers just two games back in both the Wild Card and AL West races, the Rangers will hope that Garcia can help make up for the ongoing absences of Corey Seager, Marcus Semien, and Evan Carter from the lineup—not to mention the club’s losses in the rotation like Nathan Eovaldi and Tyler Mahle.
It seemed as though the Rangers might be in for another injury scare last night when Chris Martin abruptly exited last night’s win over the Mets. Fortunately, Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News provided a positive update on Martin’s status after the game. Grant noted that while Martin had felt some “tingling” in his hands during last night’s appearance, the Rangers do not believe the situation will require a trip to the IL for Martin. That’s surely a relief for Texas, as an IL stint at this stage in the calendar would end Martin’s regular season even if he missed only the minimum time. Martin has been a key piece of the Rangers’ bullpen when healthy this year, with a 2.54 ERA and 3.30 FIP in 39 innings of work.
As for Harris, the 26-year-old made his big league debut with the Rangers last year and has appeared in just 21 big league games over the past two seasons. A .217/.280/.435 hitter across 50 trips to the plate, Harris has experience at all three outfield spots in the majors and has showed solid pop in his bat despite a 30% strikeout rate. He has some experience at the infield corners in the minor leagues as well, but has stuck exclusively to the outfield in the majors. He’ll head back to Triple-A and wait for his next opportunity, which at this point may not come until next season.
