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CLEARWATER, Fla. – Adolis García is a big man, so he smiled on Monday when asked if he always comes to Spring Training looking as jacked as this. Yes, he said. He does. “I think this has been my look overall for the past three years,” García said via the team’s interpreter at BayCare Ballpark. “I’ve never had a bigger year or a lesser year physically. That’s just how I look when I come in.” It is easy to see how García hit a career-high 39 home runs with Texas in 2023. He hit 25 in 2024, but only 19 last year as he battled injuries. But García still has power potential, and the Phillies signed him to a one-year $10 million contract in December because they believe they can tap into that power again and provide more production than recently jettisoned Nick Castellanos. “I’m just preparing to have a good season here,” García said. García, who turns 33 on March 2, batted .227 with 19 home runs, 75 RBIs, a .665 OPS and a 93 OPS+ last season with the Rangers, who non-tendered him. He posted a combined .675 OPS and 96 OPS+ the past two years, compared to Castellanos’ .719 OPS and 96 OPS+. But from 2021-23, García had a combined .777 OPS and a 113 OPS+, making two American League All-Star teams and winning 2023 AL Championship Series MVP honors. |
The Phillies believe they can get García back to his ’23 form. They saw somebody who lost his patience at the plate the past couple years, somebody who swung too hard and too often to possibly match or exceed his ’23 season. So, the Phillies and García started to work this winter. Phillies assistant hitting coach Edwar Gonzalez spent a couple days with García in Tampa, getting to know him and talking to him about getting back to his old self. “We talked to him about controlling the zone, using the whole field,” Gonzalez said. “We just had conversations. Just watching games, seeing where they changed, why they changed in certain spots. It’s different for everybody. “Part of the goal moving forward with [García] is having a lot of conversations about approach, where he’s looking for certain pitches, different pitches. Just being himself.” García’s chase rate the past two seasons (34.5 percent) ranked 114th out of 138 hitters (minimum 500 swings). It was 29.3 percent in 2023. If he could be just a little more selective, it could make a big difference. “It’s about plate discipline,” García said. “It’s about how to be aggressive at the plate. In the end, it’s just about having quality at-bats. That’s the key for everything. I think that’s the thing that we’re going to focus on. I’ve done it before. It’s just being focused at the plate, knowing what you want to do, know what pitches you want to go after, knowing what you want to attack at the plate.” |
Maybe it will help García that he is not expected to be a critical cog in the Phillies’ lineup. He spent most of his Rangers career hitting cleanup. Phillies manager Rob Thomson suggested García could hit cleanup at some point, but the smart bet remains on Alec Bohm hitting there on Opening Day. Instead, García is more likely to hit fifth or sixth behind Trea Turner, Bryce Harper, Kyle Schwarber and Bohm. Any rebound would make people forget about what happened this offseason (and the past few years) with the inconsistencies and drama surrounding Castellanos. Castellanos played with an edge, but he wasn’t happy in Philly. García plays with a fire and an overt happiness. “We like to play aggressive baseball and happy baseball and letting our emotions out,” García said. “I think it’s going to be a great experience. That’s the ball I like to play. I like to play aggressively. I like to play happy. I like to let my emotions out when I’m playing.” |
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MLB MORNING LINEUP PODCAST |
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The past couple years, I’ve asked Phillies broadcasters for their top three restaurant recommendations in the Clearwater area. They updated their lists once again: • Ruben Amaro Jr.: Beachcomber (Clearwater Beach), E&E Stakeout Grill (Belleair Bluffs) and Villa Gallace (Indian Rocks Beach)
• Larry Andersen: Clear Sky Beachside Café (Clearwater Beach), Caretta on the Gulf (Clearwater Beach) and Forlini’s (Clearwater Beach)
• Ben Davis: Bobby’s Bistro (Clearwater Beach), Clear Sky Beachside Café and Villa Gallace
• Scott Franzke: The Bait House (Clearwater Beach), Bobby’s Bistro and Southern Fresh (Safety Harbor)
• Kevin Stocker: Armature Works (Tampa), Bon Appetit (Dunedin) and Villa Gallace
• Tom McCarthy: Villa Gallace, Clear Sky Beachside Café and Rumba Island Bar & Grill (Clearwater) • Gregg Murphy: Bait House, Clear Sky Beachside Café and Columbia (Sand Key)
Here are my top three: Columbia, Cristino’s Coal Oven Pizza (downtown Clearwater) and The Honu (Dunedin). People ask which other ballpark(s) they should visit in Florida. I always recommend the Blue Jays’ park in Dunedin. Not necessarily because the ballpark is the best, but because downtown Dunedin is fantastic. Great restaurants, walkable. If you like beer, there are at least five breweries within a mile walk of one another in downtown Dunedin. Personal favorites are 7venth Sun and Dunedin Brewery. |
What’s the must-try food at the ballpark? Delco’s Steaks has three locations: Chadds Ford, Pa., Dunedin, Fla., and behind home plate at BayCare Ballpark. Excellent cheesesteaks, if you need Philly flavor while in town. There are a few Tampa-area beers served throughout the ballpark, too. Click here for more info about BayCare. Are there hotels within walking distance of the ballpark? Do I need a rental car? What is there to do when there is no baseball? There are hotels within walking distance of BayCare, if you want to make this a baseball-only trip. I highly recommend getting a rental car and staying on Clearwater Beach (or somewhere near the beach). There are plenty of name-brand hotels and other hotels/motels there and nearby on Sand Key. It makes the Spring Training experience immensely more enjoyable, just being able to walk down the beach from bar to restaurant and back to bar again. If you are taking kids, I recommend Captain Memo's Pirate Cruise. The Pier 60 area is a popular spot for families, too. |
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