The Philadelphia Phillies are hoping that the acquisition of right fielder Adolis Garcia will give the team one more substantial bat for the middle of their lineup in 2026. Garcia has spent his first six seasons with the Texas Rangers. He had a pair of 30-plus home run seasons in 2021 and 2023. He made the American League All-Star team in both of those seasons.
However, after belting 39 home runs and driving in 107 runs during the Rangers’ World Series-winning season in ’23, he has not performed as well the last two years.
His home run total dipped to 25 in 2024 and he hit just 19 last year. The outfielder said he does not want to be a hero in 2026 for the Phillies, but he wants to be a consistent contributor. “The focus is not to be a hero, it is to have good at-bats, the concentration, the focus level, the approach of things, being within myself,” Garcia said through his interpreter.
Phillies president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski said that he saw enough good things from Garcia that he wanted to bring him to Philadelphia.
One of those factors is that Garcia still hits the ball very hard. According to Statcast, ranked in the top 30 percent of hitters in exit velocity, barrel rate and hard-hit rate.
The biggest issue is that Garcia has been swinging at too many pitches out of the strike zone. He had a 35.7 percent chase rate, quite a bit higher than his chase rate of 29.3 percent in 2023.
Phillies lineup should be formidable again in 2026
The Phillies won the National League East title last year with a 99-66 record before losing to the Los Angeles Dodgers in the National League playoffs.
The Phillies re-signed Kyle Schwarber in the offseason after he led the National League with 56 home runs and 132 runs batted in. In addition to Schwarber, Bryce Harper blasted 27 home runs and drove in 75 runs. Garcia should be able to fit in quite well with those two sluggers.