Adonis Garcia struggled so much badly at third base that the Braves sent him down to Triple-A Gwinnett in May and switched him to left field. He wasn’t doing so hot at the plate, either.
But Garcia has had a dramatic turnaround in his play at third during his second stint with the Braves. He’s also showing signs of becoming an offensive threat.
Garcia showed his two-way value on Sunday against the Mets. He hit a three-run homer in the eighth inning that ended up providing the winning margin in the 5-2 victory and made two good catches to help preserve the lead.
“I definitely enjoyed the game today,” Garcia said through an interpreter. “It was a lot of fun. On defense, primarily I’m just trying to focus on making the right plays and doing the routine stuff. On offense, I’m just trying to get the bat on the ball.”
Garcia is second on the team with eight home runs this season in spite of spending three weeks with Gwinnett. He’s always shown offensive potential since his rookie season of 2015. It’s his improved defense that’s surprising.
During Garcia’s 28-game stint with the Braves earlier this season he was the worst defensive third baseman in the majors with seven errors in 43 chances. He’s become a reliable third baseman in his return: two errors in 56 chances entering Sunday while regularly making superlative plays.
That’s after he played left field in the minors.
“Baseball is a crazy game,” Braves first baseman Freddie Freeman said.
Garcia had two good catches in foul territory against the Mets.
In the second inning Garcia made a running catch just before running into the wall in foul territory. In the ninth inning he made a sliding, over-the-shoulder catch up the baseline for the second out.
Garcia said he’s benefited from working on his defense with Braves coach Terry Pendleton. He said he’s also gained confidence from interim manager Brian Snitker’s decision to put him back at third base.
“He’s really trying hard,” Snitker said. “He’s conscientious about what he’s doing. He’s a very aggressive player both offensively and defensively. It’s good to see him out there (as) a major contributor. When he wasn’t in the lineup last week (because of injury), it makes a difference when he’s (in) there.”
Garcia is hitting .333 (16-for-48) with four home runs and 11 RBIs over his last 13 games. During his rookie season of 2015 he hit 10 home runs, second on the team, and his .790 on-base plus slugging percentage would have ranked second on the team if he had enough plate appearances to qualify.
The Braves led 2-1 when Garcia hit Logan Verrett’s 3-1 pitch out to left-center field.
“He did it offensively and defensively for us today,” Freeman said. “He’s been huge for us. Hopefully he will keep it up.”
