Texas Rangers expect slugger Adolis García ready for opening day since oblique strain is mild

SURPRISE, Ariz. (AP) — The Texas Rangers expect right fielder Adolis Garcia can be ready for opening day after testing on his sore left oblique revealed a mild strain.

Manager Bruce Bochy told reporters Wednesday, a day after García was scratched from the lineup for a spring training game, that the two-time All-Star slugger had “not quite” a Grade 1 strain.

“They felt this was between a zero and a one, I guess,” Bochy said.

Fellow outfielder Wyatt Langford, who had a Grade 1 strain in his left oblique, could make his spring training debut this week after being sidelined since Feb. 21.

Bochy said García should return “a little bit sooner” than that timetable. That would have García easily on track for the opener at home against Boston on March 27.

When the Rangers won their only World Series title two seasons ago, García missed the last two World Series games with an oblique issue.

After hitting 39 homers with 107 RBIs during the 2023 season, García hit .357 with five homers and series-record 15 RBIs in the AL Championship Series against Houston, becoming the first player with RBIs in six consecutive games within a postseason series. He homered in five consecutive postseason games, and his 11th-inning homer ended Game 1 of the World Series against Arizona.

Going into the final season of his contract, García is trying to bounce back from a disappointing 2024 in which he hit .224 with 25 homers and 85 RBIs in 154 games. He had six hits and two walks in 21 plate appearances this spring training before the oblique strain.

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