WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — This is the sixth major league spring training for Washington Nationals second baseman Luis García Jr., which might seem surprising. He is, after all, just 23. Only three players on the Nationals’ roster in 2023 were younger than him. Infielder Darren Baker is 25, stands behind García on the depth chart and has yet to debut in the big leagues.
García’s bubbly personality — the same one he displayed as a bright-eyed 18-year-old back in 2019 — hasn’t waned one bit. But the expectations around him have changed. And he senses it.
“I always try to stay with that feeling of it being my first camp, ready to learn and just embrace everything, keep working,” García said via an interpreter. “I feel like a lot of times, when you feel that veteran presence in you, you might get a little lackadaisical, a little too confident. So I just want to keep having that hunger and that excitement in me that I had the very first time I was here.”
García made his MLB debut in 2020, when he was billed as one of the Nationals’ rising prospects. Washington gave him a shot at shortstop in 2022, but he struggled defensively and eventually moved to second base after the team acquired CJ Abrams in the Juan Soto trade. The pair seemed as though they could be the Nationals’ middle infield of the future heading into 2023.
One year later, García’s place in the Nationals’ plans isn’t as secure as it once seemed. He has the talent. His problem is consistency.
García started last season strong because of improved plate discipline, but he didn’t maintain that selectiveness. His chase rate was 24.6 and 27.2 percent in March/April and May, but he chased 36.5 percent of the time in June and 31.6 percent in July, according to TruMedia. Still, García does deserve credit — he dropped his chase rate from 40.8 in 2022 to 30.8 in 2023, even if the latter figure is still slightly above league average.
The left-handed hitter is at his best when he’s going to the opposite field. His weighted on-base average — a version of on-base percentage that factors in a player’s impact on scoring runs — was .278 on balls that he pulled. That increased to .310 on balls hit to the middle of the field and .374 on balls sent to left field, yet as the season progressed García was rolling over and hitting groundballs to the right side of the infield. By August, the Nationals sent him to Class AAA Rochester. Manager Dave Martinez hinted that García needed to develop a better routine. He was called back up in September.
“At first, I felt sad and frustrated,” García said. “Through the course of the getting there and playing down there, obviously I got more experience under my belt. My attitude was much different. My perspective was very different.”
García believes he has corrected his mechanics to keep his weight back and hit to the middle of the field. He lost weight in the offseason by eating healthier and joked that he ran “a lot.” That should help his agility and range — he finished 4 outs below average a season ago. García played winter ball in the Dominican Republic and called the atmosphere “crazy,” but he believes it helped him develop a stronger focus.
“I’ve seen a different [García],” Martinez said. “When we’re getting our work in on groundballs and working on situational hitting, his focus has been a lot better.”
There are some names to watch behind García at spring training, though he remains the favorite to win the second base job. Infielder Trey Lipscomb, who finished last season with Class AA Harrisburg, has been the primary player getting reps behind García. Martinez has been vocal about how much he likes Lipscomb’s defensive versatility — he’s a natural third baseman but can play all four infield positions. Behind Lipscomb are Baker and Jake Alu. Baker spent most of 2023 at Rochester; Alu hit .226 in 51 games in the majors.
At times last season, García could be seen sitting in the clubhouse as his teammates were in the batting cage or preparing for the game. This spring training, he has made more of an effort — even if it has been only a few weeks.
He wants to show the Nationals that he’s here to work. The Nationals hope that mentality lasts for a full season.
“He’s been around now for a while — this is it,” Martinez said. “He’s got to get going. And we need him. We need the guy that’s going to show up every day and stay in every pitch of every at-bat. … For him, it’s go time.”
