Outside of Anthony Volpe and Austin Wells, the New York Yankees were great at getting the most out of their sluggers in 2025. They witnessed a resurgence in former National League MVP Cody Bellinger. They also had a breakout year by Trent Grisham, whose bat was always the most vulnerable part of his game. Even Jasson Dominguez wasn’t so bad at the plate despite his limited playing. The team obviously needed more from him, and his lack of power was a surprise, but he did still manage to have an OPS north of .700 with a 103 wRC+.

This is why taking a flyer on Adolis Garcia could be an intriguing move. The Texas Rangers recently non-tendered him.

The Positives and Negatives of Adolis Garcia

The downside of Garcia is that his counting stats over the course of two seasons look more like those of Wells and Volpe. In his last two seasons and in a painstaking 1,184 plate appearances, he hit .225/.278/.397 with an 89 wRC+.

The one positive is that the power was still there for Garcia. He hit 44 home runs in those two seasons.

What Garcia brings is an adequate track record of hitting in previous years, though. In 2022 and 2023, he hit .247/.313/.481 with a 120 wRC+ with 66 home runs.

Something to consider with him is his underlying metrics. He had an average exit velocity of 92.1 MPH. He also had an 11.6% barrel rate and a 46.7% hard-hit rate.

It’s hard to say why Garcia struggled the way he did. One thing to note is that his walk rate has plummeted since 2023, when he helped the Rangers win a World Series. That year, he had a walk rate of 10.3%. The following season, it fell to 7.1% Last year, he had a paltry 5.1% walk rate. What does Garcia look like if he gets back to where he was during the World Series run?

The Scenarios Where Adolis Garcia Makes Sense

If the Yankees do go out and sign Garcia, it would make sense in two scenarios. The first is if the Yankees whiff on both Cody Bellinger and Kyle Tucker. Garcia could be a stopgap until either Dominguez finds his footing in the league, contributing in the way the organization has waited for since he was a teenager, or Spencer Jones lives up to his own hype.

The issue with this scenario is that the Yankee offseason would be a bust if the most significant addition to their outfield is a player who was non-tendered by a team that finished 81-81 last year. It’s Brian Cashman-esque dumpster diving at its finest.

Another reason to get Garcia is if the Yankees go all out on the trade market and are forced to trade both Jones and Dominguez. The team would need outfield depth at that point, and taking a flyer on Garcia could be a way to fill out their 40-man roster.

Signing Garcia isn’t the type of move that will set the Yankees apart from the rest of the American League unless he gets back to the player he was a few years ago, but at a minimum, he would be a decent depth piece.

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