Slumping Texas Rangers slugger Adolis Garcia was out of the starting lineup for the third straight day Sunday when the Rangers closed a series against the visiting St. Louis Cardinals.
Garcia has been struggling all season and went 5-for-41 (.122) with 18 strikeouts over his past 10 appearances. He posted one homer and three RBIs during the stretch.
The Rangers have requested that Garcia work on his mechanics in hopes he can rediscover his 2023 form, when he established career highs of 39 homers and 107 RBIs. Garcia was an All-Star for the second time that season and also smacked eight homers in the postseason as Texas won the World Series.
“We need him to kind of commit to some of these changes that we think will get him back to the ’23 version of himself and help him be the player that we know he can be,” Texas general manager Chris Young said before the Sunday contest against St. Louis.
Garcia is batting just .208 and slugging .371 with seven homers and 27 RBIs in 56 games this season.
Garcia acknowledged that the break could be beneficial.
“It’s about the mental reset and coming back with more energy,” García said. “I’m working on some stuff without the pressure of having to do something up there.”
Garcia, 32, has been a staple in the Texas lineup since the start of the 2021 season. He has 129 homers, 410 RBIs and a .237 average in 687 games with the Rangers.
Texas also placed right-hander Nathan Eovaldi on the 15-day injured list. The move is retroactive to Thursday.
Eovaldi, 35, exited Tuesday’s start against the Toronto Blue Jays after two innings due to right triceps soreness.
“With the flexibility in the rotation, we felt like this is the appropriate thing to make sure that we get him right,” Young said. “Structurally, everything looks really good. We took a picture. Everything looks really good. We just gotta get this triceps thing calmed down. We anticipate that he’ll be ready at the end of the 15-day mark.”
The loss of Eovaldi rates as a big blow. He entered Sunday’s play ranked second in the majors with a 1.56 ERA and is 4-3 with 73 strikeouts in 69 1/3 innings over 12 starts.
Texas recalled right-hander reliever Codi Heuer from Triple-A Round Rock to fill Eovaldi’s spot on the active roster. To make room for Heuer on their 40-man roster, the Rangers designated catcher Tucker Barnhart for assignment.
Barnhart, 34, was 3-for-13 (.231) in eight appearances for Texas. The 28-year-old Heuer is 2-1 with a 3.27 ERA in 19 appearances at Round Rock.
