In no uncertain terms, Adolis Garcia was largely a train wreck for the Philadelphia Phillies before he suffered a season ending injury. Entering the week of June 8, before his mini surge began, the 33-year-old right fielder was hitting .199/.274/.326, good for a 68 wRC+. He's played every day out of necessity, but it was evident his best days were behind him.
Believing in a promising week-long stretch would have been a dubious proposition at best given what we've otherwise seen from him this year (and the last two years).
The idea behind signing Garcia was sound, and for whatever it's worth, he was good in one key aspect this season: hitting left-handed pitchers. His .864 OPS against southpaws significantly outpaced the team's overall mark, even if it hasn't always directly led to additional offensive production in those games.
We might be back. pic.twitter.com/lg6NjXDt9j
— Jack Fritz (@JackFritzWIP) June 4, 2026
Does that excuse his otherwise lackluster production? Of course not. But it does reveal a truth about the Phillies' questionable roster construction. The team basically had no other options in a thin market for right-handed hitting outfielders.
Phillies did the best they could in barren free-agent market for right-handed hitting outfielders
When I say that the options were thin this past offseason, I mean thin. Marcell Ozuna has been a disaster in Pittsburgh, while both Andrew McCutchen and Eloy Jimenez have already been designated for assignment this year — not to mention the fact that all three of those players profile better as designated hitters rather than outfielders, a job that was filled the moment Kyle Schwarber agreed to return to Philadelphia.
Should we keep going down the list? Starling Marte is a 37-year-old currently posting an 91 wRC+ in Kansas City, Lane Thomas owns a .366 slugging percentage for the same team, Rob Refsnyder has been worth -0.9 fWAR, and old friend Harrison Bader has a .557 OPS.
Sure, there have been a few winners. Jose Siri has been a revelation in limited action with the Angles, while Miguel Andújar has been an above-average regular for the Padres (albeit primarily as a DH). But the list of failures is so laughably long that it's hard to fault Dave Dombrowski for swinging and missing on Garcia. There were simply no better options out there; taking a bet on the two-time All-Star was a sensible thing to do in such market conditions.
The team tried the free agency route and failed. Now, it'll be up to Dombrowski to find a solution to this problem via the trade market after Garcia's injury left him no choice.
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