Rangers All-Star Adolis Garcia Explains Why Not In WBC

The Texas Rangers outfielder will make his Spring Training debut on Monday with the rest of the position players.

Texas Rangers outfielder Adolis García wanted to play for the Cuban national team in the World Baseball Classic next month. But it didn’t work out.

His reasons had nothing to do with issues with the Cuban national team or playing time. In fact, he told The Dallas Morning News that the interest was mutual. The Cuban national team approached him to play.

His logic for not playing was simple — he didn’t want to be away from Spring Training for more than two weeks.

Three Rangers will participate in the WBC, which starts next month — pitcher Martín Pérez (Venezuela), pitcher José Leclerc (Dominican Republic) and pitcher Mitch Bratt (Canada). The trio were allowed to report to Surprise a few days earlier than the rest of the team in order to prepare for the WBC.

All three will leave in early March and report to their respective teams.

García will stay with the Rangers.

He made his professional baseball debut in 2016 with the Yomiuri Giants in Japan and defected from Cuba the same year. In 2017, he signed with the St. Louis Cardinals and eventually made his MLB debut in 2018.

The Rangers acquired him for cash considerations in early 2019. After some time in the minor-league system, including being designated for assignment at one point, García was named as a reserve for the American League in the 2021 MLB All-Star Game during his rookie season.

He batted .243/.286/.454/.741 in 2021 and led all rookies with 90 RBI and 59 extra-base hits. He also hit 31 home runs.

He remained consistent for the Rangers last season, batting .250/.300/.456/.756 with 27 home runs, 101 RBI and 25 stolen bases. He was one of two Rangers to have at least 25 home runs and 25 stolen bases last season (Marcus Semien was the other).

All Rangers position players will go through their first workouts in Surprise on Monday. The Rangers play their first Spring Training game Friday against Kansas City.

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