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Texas Rangers Slugger Adolis García Makes Expedited Return to Spring Training Lineup

Adolis García wasn't expected to return from his oblique injury until Thursday, but the Texas Rangers star is starting against the Cincinnati Reds on Wednesday.
Sam Connon|
Surprise, Arizona, USA; Texas Rangers outfielder Adolis Garcia talks to teammates in the dugout against the Seattle Mariners during a spring training baseball game at Surprise Stadium.
Surprise, Arizona, USA; Texas Rangers outfielder Adolis Garcia talks to teammates in the dugout against the Seattle Mariners during a spring training baseball game at Surprise Stadium. | Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

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Texas Rangers

Adolis García is starting at designated hitter and batting fifth for the Texas Rangers in their spring training game against the Cincinnati Reds on Wednesday, per an announcement from the team.

This marks García's first appearance in a Cactus League contest since he was scratched from the lineup on March 4. An MRI revealed García had suffered a mild left oblique strain, knocking the outfielder out for the next week of action as a result.

Manager Bruce Bochy told reporters Tuesday morning that García was slated to return as a designated hitter against the San Francisco Giants on Thursday. García's live at-bats on a back field went well enough, apparently, that his return was moved up a day.

García was batting .316 with a .749 OPS through eight spring training games before he got hurt.

Since becoming a full-time big leaguer in 2021, García has appeared in an average of 152 games a year. He was knocked out of the 2023 World Series with a left oblique strain, though, and he suffered a patella tendon sprain in his left knee at the very end of the 2024 regular season.

García posted career-lows across the board in 2024, batting .224 with 25 home runs, 85 RBIs, a .684 OPS and a 0.3 WAR. Back in 2023, he hit .245 with 39 home runs, 107 RBIs, an .836 OPS and a 4.2 WAR.

The 32-year-old slugger is a two-time All-Star with a Gold Glove, ALCS MVP and World Series ring to his name.

Here is the Rangers' full lineup for Wednesday's game against the Reds:

1. Josh Smith, LF
2. Corey Seager, SS
3. Joc Pederson, 1B
4. Josh Jung, 3B
5. Adolis García, DH
6. Evan Carter, CF
7. Sam Haggerty, 2B
8. Jonah Heim, C
9. Leody Taveras, RF
SP: Shawn Armstrong, RHP

First pitch is scheduled for 4:05 p.m. ET from Surprise Stadium.

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Sam Connon
SAM CONNON

Sam Connon is a staff writer covering baseball for “Fastball on SI.’’ He previously covered UCLA Athletics for On SI’s All Bruins site, and is a UCLA graduate, with his work there as a sports columnist receiving awards from the College Media Association and Society of Professional Journalists. Connon also wrote for On SI’s New England Patriots site, Patriots Country, and he was on the Patriots and Boston Red Sox beats at Prime Time Sports Talk. Sam lives in Boston.

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