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Should Braves show interest in Adolis Garcia?

Originally posted on SportsTalkATL | By Chase Irle | Last updated Nov 19, 2025 9:28 AM ET

It might be toward the bottom of the Braves’ long list of needs, but adding another bat who can play the outfield and replace Marcell Ozuna in the lineup would be extremely helpful.

A pure DH wouldn’t be the worst consolation prize — Anthopoulos even said he hasn’t shut the door on Ozuna returning — but getting someone with more defensive versatility would be ideal. That would allow Ronald Acuña Jr. to get a day off in the field from time to time, or potentially replace Jurickson Profar in left field, who was dismal defensively in his first year with the Braves.

The problem is there aren’t many attractive and affordable options on the outfield market this offseason. The Braves aren’t going to spend big on someone like Cody Bellinger or Kyle Tucker with so many more glaring issues to address. And now, with Trent Grisham accepting his qualifying offer from the Yankees, the best realistic free agent options are mostly veteran platoon types or upside bounce-back candidates.

The potential trade market, however, could offer more variety. Affordable stars like Byron Buxton and Jarren Duran are names the Braves will surely check in on this winter, but there are also viable starting options who won’t break the bank in terms of prospect cost — including Adolis Garcia, who, according to MLB insider Jeff Passan, the Rangers are currently shopping ahead of Friday’s non-tender deadline.

The #Rangers are trying to trade OF Adolis García and C Jonah Heim before Friday's tender deadline, per @JeffPassan

Passan notes both players are nontender candidates if TEX can’t find a trade partner. pic.twitter.com/3LyLFV4hW5

— MLB Deadline News (@MLBDeadlineNews) November 18, 2025

Adolis Garcia is exactly the type of bat I could see the Braves targeting. The trade return for the Rangers should be minimal, and he’s set to earn around $13 million in his final year of arbitration — a number that could even come down if Texas is willing to send some money.

Garcia is coming off a couple of down seasons by his standards offensively, posting a .675 OPS since the start of the 2024 campaign. Still, he’s slugged 44 homers over that span. His best year came during the Rangers’ World Series run in 2023, when he finished just one homer shy of 40 with an .836 OPS. From 2021–2023, he averaged more than 32 home runs per season with a .777 OPS.

What makes him even more intriguing is his defense. Garcia is an above-average defender with a massive arm, fully capable of handling either corner outfield spot. It’s also worth noting that he has ties to Tim Hyers , who was the Rangers’ hitting coach during Garcia’s career year in 2023. Hyers is now the hitting coach in Atlanta, and it’s been well documented how much Alex Anthopoulos values internal endorsements when targeting players.

Garcia’s market is certainly something to watch in the coming days, whether he’s traded or ultimately non-tendered by the Rangers and hits free agency.

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This article first appeared on SportsTalkATL and was syndicated with permission.

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