The Phillies’ Adolis García Signing Feels Like the Same Gamble Repeated One Too Many Times. DD
The former postseason hero signed a deal to improve the Phillies’ outfield, but the move is a truly puzzling one
On Monday morning, the Philadelphia Phillies signed former Texas Rangers outfielder and 2023 postseason hero Adolis Garcia to a 1-year, $10 million contract for the 2026 season.
The team has been heavily reported to be pursuing outfield additions, and their first move to address that area comes in the 2023 ALCS MVP Garcia, who slashed .323/.382/.726 with 8 home runs and 22 Runs Batted In throughout his electrifying October performance en route to a World Series ring.
The one problem: it’s not 2023 anymore.
The once-famed slugger who posted three solid seasons from 2021-2023, peaking with an .836 OPS, 39 home runs, and 107 RBIs in 2023, has taken a massive step back in the two seasons twice.
His power has dipped, hitting just 44 total long balls across 2024 and 2025, and his OPS has finished below .700 in both years, with a career-low .665 in 2025.
A Familiar Attempt to Solve a Familiar Problem
The Phillies’ attempts to improve their outfield production have certainly been vast, beginning with signing Nick Castellanos to a 5-year, $100 million contract after his breakout 2022 season with Cincinnati.
Castellanos has continually fallen below expectations, and rumors about his potential departure that have been present since 2023 seem to finally be coming to fruition this offseason.
Outside of him, youth movements, including inserting former top prospect Johan Rojas into the everyday lineup, midseason acquisitions such as Harrison Bader and Austin Hays, and free agent signings, including Max Kepler, have been the bulk of the front office’s efforts to improve the position group that continues to sit firmly among the league’s worst in terms of production.
While their most recent move in Bader definitely paid dividends, the majority of their roster additions have fallen flat on their face.
Even with Bader’s success, the unfortunate theme that continues to be present in the team’s moves is that they are all, in some way or another, stopgap solutions.
The 1-year, $10 million deal that Kepler signed last offseason, Hays and Bader being under contract for just the rest of the respective season that they were acquired in, and now, a 1-year deal given to Adolis Garcia, the Phillies keep trying to generate duct-tape fixes for a long-term problem.
Garcia is the definition of a bounce-back candidate, same as Kepler.
With stars like Cody Bellinger and Kyle Tucker available to be had with longer-term commitments, Phillies President of Baseball Operations Dave Dombrowski again chooses to bet on a player who has shown concerning recent production but was once a prized outfield asset.
Garcia has shown that he’s exactly the type of hitter that the Phillies should be avoiding but continue to target.
He whiffs a lot, rarely works walks, and has posted an above-average OBP in just one season.
He’s an undeniable defensive upgrade, but even so, his metrics have begun to dip as he gets into his mid-30s.
Maybe he breaks the ever-growing streak of disappointing offseason outfield acquisitions in Philadelphia and shows that the 2023 version of him is still there, but on paper, the move is certainly far from an ideal one for the Phillies.
