TODAY: The Marlins officially released Garcia after clearing waivers, according to Isaac Azout of FishOnFirst and the Miami Herald (X link).
JUNE 4: The Marlins designated a veteran outfielder Avisail Garcia per share, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reports. Garcia, 32, (33 next week) is in the third season of a four-year, $53MM contract that turned out to be a big mistake for the organization. Craig Mish of the Miami Herald writes that former Marlins CEO Derek Jeter had “exclusive control” over negotiations with Garcia and his representation.
That four-year contract with the Fish came after a 29-homer showing in Milwaukee. Garcia had hit .262/.330/.490 in his final season with the Brewers, and while he had been inconsistent year-to-year in the seasons leading up to his big payday in Miami, he was impressive overall. 278/.335/.464 batting line for a decade worth of at-bats before putting pen to paper as a free agent in South Florida. He also showed repeated ability for hard contact, featuring an average exit velocity of 89.9 mph, a 10% barrel rate and a 42% hard-hit rate over that five-year span (all via Statcast).
Garcia's decline began almost immediately with the Marlins. He struggled out of the gate in 2022, and while he was a bit hot in June, his overall batting line in the first year of that four-year deal came in at .224/.266/.317. By wRC+ rating, he was 37% worse than league average at the plate. Even a minor double in 2023 seemed possible, but Garcia's numbers went way out of whack. Injuries limited him to just 118 plate appearances, where he hit .185/.241/.315 while striking out 33% of his plate appearances. This season, he has been on the disabled list since late April with a pulled hamstring.
Overall, Garcia's time with the Marlins would come to an end with a difficult .217/.260/.322 (61 wRC+) batting line. He is still owed the balance of $12MM in salary this season (about $7.612MM), plus another $12MM in 2025 and a $5MM buyout with a 2026 club option. The Marlins technically have a week to try to trade Garcia, but a release is inevitable. He can't be placed on the waivers list because he's on the injured list – and he can resign and decline a minor league assignment in favor of free agency – and no other club will take any part of that contract.
Once Garcia clears waivers, he will be a free agent able to sign with any club. The new team will only owe the former Tigers, White Sox, Rays and Brewers the minor league minimum for any time spent on the roster/injured list. That money will be deducted from what the Marlins owe him, but by choosing to assign him now, Miami is agreeing to eat up a large portion of the dead money on Garcia's contract.
With Garcia out of the bullpen, the Marlins will continue to roll out the outfield/DH mix Bryan De La Cruz, Jazz Chisholm Jr., Jesus Sanchez, Nick Gordon again Dane Myers. Triple-A outdoor Victor Mesa Young may end up joining that mix if he can continue his strong .280/.347/.466 start in Jacksonville — especially if the Marlins end up moving any of their more experienced outfield options before next month's trade deadline. .
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