The Miami Marlins didn't get much production from Avisail Garcia in 2022 and he isn't one of the three players that will shatter your expectations this upcoming season. Avisail was so bad in 2022 that he was worth -1.1 WAR and batted just .224/.266/.317 in 98 games and 357 AB. Is there any hope for a bounce back or is Avi just a sunken cost for The Fish at this point? Let's take a look at what we can expect from him in 2023.
What can the Miami Marlins expect from Avisail Garcia in 2023?
The 31 year old Avisail Garcia was never a consistently productive player in the Major Leagues. He debuted with the Detroit Tigers in 2012 and played for them in 2012-2013. He batted an impressive .319/.373/.319 in 23 games and 51 AB with Detroit in 2012. In 2013 he batted .241/.273/.373 in 72 games and 244 AB before being traded to the Chicago White Sox.
With the Chicago White Sox, Avi played from 2013 to 2018. In 2013 he batted .304/.327/.447 in 42 games and 161 AB. He had a total batting line of .283/.309/.422 in 72 games and 244 AB. In 2014, he batted just .244/.305/.413 in 46 games and 172 AB. 2015 was Avi's first full season and he batted .257/.309/.365 with 13 home runs and 59 RBI in 148 games and 553 AB. In 2016 he batted .245/.307/.385 with 12 home runs and 51 RBI in 120 games and 413 AB.
Avisail Garcia broke out in 2017 with a .330/.380/.506 batting line 18 home runs and 80 RBI in 136 games and 518 AB. He was worth a career-high 4.4 WAR that season. He followed that up with a disappointing .236/.281/.438 in 93 games and 356 AB in 2018. He moved on to the Tampa Bay Rays as a free agent in 2019. He batted .282/.332/.464 with 20 home runs and 72 RBI in 125 games and 489 AB. This led to him moving on to the Milwaukee Brewers for 2020.
In the shortened 2020 season he batted .238/.333/.326 in 53 games and 181 AB. He bounced back in 2021 however with a .262/.330/.490 batting line with 29 home runs and 86 RBI in 135 games and 461 AB. That was the production that got him a contract from Kim Ng to play for the Miami Marlins. How is he doing so far? Well there was that abysmal 2022 and there's his Fangraphs projection of .243/.301/.380 with 17 home runs and 67 RBI. He's projected to improve, so that's something right?
I don't have high hopes for Avisail Garcia, but he can't be as bad as he was in 2022 and he is projected to improve.