The 2026 Yankees project to have what might be called a fairly high variance group of outfielders. In one locked-in spot, there’s Aaron Judge, a generationally great baseball player who is not going anywhere, or seemingly regressing, any time soon. There’s Trent Grisham, who’s coming off of a surprise career year and an acceptance of the pricey qualifying offer. Jasson Dominguez will also likely be out there as things stand, and despite his lofty expectations and huge raw skills, is coming off of an underwhelming but not entirely bad first real crack at the majors.

It’s not a bad group by any means, and obviously has plenty of potential to be a very good one. But, with some question marks to consider, and a still good but oft-injured Giancarlo Stanton penciled in at designated hitter, an additional move in the outfield could always be a possibility. While a blockbuster move might be less likely, a more supplementary signing, like a flyer on Adolis García, could be a possibility.

García has had a long and interesting road of a major league career. First signing with St. Louis in 2017, he made his big league debut in ‘18 with the Cardinals, doing very little in 17 plate appearances. He appeared with the Rangers in 2020, but only for a very small cup of coffee. But, out of nowhere in 2021, García broke out in a big way, hitting 31 homers, making his first All-Star team, and finishing fourth in Rookie of the Year voting at the age of 28.

He followed that breakout season with two consecutive excellent campaigns in Texas. His made his biggest mark in 2023, when he hit 39 homers, slashed .245/.328/.508 for a 128 wRC+, and accumulated an impressive 4.7 fWAR. It was a star-level season, and he earned his way to a second All-Star team, hitting a new peak at the age of 30. As a late-bloomer, however, he was still a ways from free agency, and that timing has now come back to bite him.

García, despite some nig numbers, and even bigger arms, has plenty of holes in his game. Even at his best, he strikes out a ton and rarely walks, which puts a cap on his offensive game despite his major power. He also plays a volatile outfield, and while it would be unfair to call him a bad defender, he has posted individual seasons with some very troubling metrics manning the grass. That being said, he’s had some good ones too — of course, smaller sample defensive numbers can get a little wonky.

Unfortunately, the uglier side of García’s game began to show itself over the last couple of seasons. In 2024, he posted lows in almost every offensive category, mounting to just a 98 wRC+ in 154 (sub-replacement level) games of action, a very disappointing follow up to a season in which he helped lead the Rangers to a World Series title. Last season was even worse, as he continued to fall in almost every offensive category, managing just an 83 wRC+, walking just over five percent of the time, and slugging under .400 for the first time post-breakout.

At the age of 32, the Rangers had seen enough. Despite the high and relatively recent peaks, they non-tendered García earlier this offseason, and he now finds himself entrenched in the free agent pool. Despite a career that wouldn’t be described as lengthy, the big right-hander is on the wrong side of 30, and is now on the heels of consecutive seasons with vastly diminishing returns on offense.

García has been a very good player somewhat recently, and clearly has enormous raw skills. But, his game is one that comes with a lot of flaws, and the effect of that has been seen clearly over the last two seasons. A fit with the Yankees may be hard to imagine, with a core outfield group that would see the bulk of the time, and García being an older veteran who is showing less and less to offer. But, given those bright spots that we’ve seen, he is certainly worth a short-term flyer of a deal somewhere, hoping he can run into some more homers and limit the flaws that have begun to hold him back.