Analysis: Optioning Luis García to the minors was not in Washington's preseason plans. But on Wednesday, that’s exactly what the Nationals did.
, he has a .599 OPS, the 11th-lowest among qualified hitters in that stretch. On defense, his lack of quickness at second base has turned a handful of routine plays into diving attempts. He is skilled on both sides of the ball, possessing soft hands and plus contact ability. But that’s rarely yielded results in the past four months.García knows he can reach most pitches and has trouble resisting.
Sure, a few of his expected stats indicate at least some bad luck. But luck aside, this is not the desired production for a bat-first middle infielder who was once a top prospect. It is far, far from it. Perhaps most noticeably, García crushed four-seam fastballs last year and has not done that in 2023 . And that’s with seeing the pitch at a near-identical rate.
So what does this mean moving forward? Infielder Jeter Downs will replace García on the active roster. On Friday, Martinez is expected to offer a loose plan for splitting starts at second between Downs, veteran Michael Chavis and utility man Ildemaro Vargas. Downs, a former first-round pick, has not inspired with a .175 average and .635 OPS in Rochester. Yet this move was all about García, not about getting someone else a look.
They felt Robles needed a reset and wake-up call. They likely feel the same with García, who has 1,170 career plate appearances but is still only two years older than Crews,. Garcia’s scattered development has also done him few favors. He was first called up at 20, rushed from the alternate site to Camden Yards in 2020 because Starlin Castro broke his wrist. Then after playing 70 games in 2021, he played shortstop for 58 games last season, an experiment that proved to be a disaster.
This year, then, was his opportunity to finally find a rhythm. Here were everyday at-bats from late March on. Here was the right position, second base, and a double play partner he could grow with. But García couldn’t take that and run with it. Now he’ll hack away in the minors to earn another chance.
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