The absence of Adolis García early in spring training games had left some Texas Rangers fans with cause for consternation.
Not to worry. El Bombi is back and belting massive home runs.
García played in his first Cactus League game of the spring on Wednesday and wasted no time teeing off on an 81 mph hanging slider in the fourth inning.
Statcast estimated García’s homer to travel 398 feet to the berm behind the left-field wall with an exit velocity of 101.4 mph.
“It was a good day, good at-bats,” García told reporters. “I’m happy to be back.”
García was 1 for 3 with a strikeout as the designated hitter on Wednesday and hasn’t yet seen any Cactus League action in right field.
He struck out on a 2-2 slider in his first at-bat in the first inning of the Rangers’ 6-6 with the Colorado Rockies at Salt Rivers Field in Scottsdale, Ariz. In his third AB in the fifth, he grounded into a double play. His homer came against Rockies right-hander Gavin Hollowell.
Manager Bruce Bochy said a few players, including García and catcher Jonah Heim, would be ramped a little slower than others this spring. Heim didn’t catch in a spring game until Feb. 28, six games into the season. García’s first appearance came in Game No. 13, a 6-6 tie with the Rockies.
“I wasn’t playing, but I was taking plenty of at-bats on the backfields, and I was feeling really good,” said García, who turned 31 on March 2. “I was working on my running and conditioning to be 100%.”
