Texas
Adolis Garcia’s energy ignites Rangers spring training
SURPRISE, AZ — We’re three days into spring training and you still can’t wipe the smile off the face of Rangers Right Fielder Adolis Garcia. And, he has good reason to be in a good mood.
“I’m happy to be back in baseball. Everything is the same,” Garcia told the media in his first clubhouse interview speaking exclusively in English. “Everything is the same. Same goal. Win and do the best for the team.’”
Eight years after defecting from Cuba and three years after he was unceremoniously designated for assignment by the Rangers, the soon to be 31-year-old Garcia has his first big contract. He avoided arbitration at the last moment, agreeing to a 2-year, $14 million contract that, with playing time and MVP voting incentives, can increase to over $20 million. He can’t become a free agent for three more years, at age 34.
“I’m grateful,” Adolis says, “I’m so happy.”
Garcia not only hit 39 homers with 107 RBIs and was the American League Championship Series MVP last year, he’s also the emotional heartbeat of this team.
“We do have a slow heart rate team,” veteran outfielder Travis Jankowski said. “Guys like Corey Seager and Marcus Semien and Evan Carter play with a slow heart rate, staying on an even keel from game to game. Sometimes you need that guy who injects energy and emotion into what we do. Adolis is that for us.”
“Yeah, I enjoy that,” Garcia said. ‘”That’s something that I like. My teammates believe in me. They trust me, and I just try to give that energy back.”
Adolis energized this team the most when they needed it the most. In Games 6 and 7 of the ALCS in Houston, he slugged 3 home runs with 9 RBIs.
Garcia says his favorite moment from last postseason was when Seager hit the 9th inning, game-tying 2-run homer in Game One of the World Series.
Think about that. Adolis liked Seager’s homer better than his own 11th inning walk-off home run to win that same game!
“When Corey tied the game, that was crazy!”
That selfless answer says a lot about Garcia and this team.
“We are family,” Adolis said, “and I always say we are more friends now than teammates. That’s why this is so special.”
There’s something else special about Adolis. He’s quickly becoming bilingual. This was his first clubhouse interview in front of a group of reporters done exclusively in English.
What Garcia has done the last three years in Arlington translates in any language. And, if he can stay healthy and keep doing this for three more years, it will translate into a contract at age 34 that would have been beyond his wildest dreams when he departed his native Cuba at age 23.
More than 150 troops at Lackland Air Force Base in Texas have been infected with influenza over the past three weeks — a major outbreak less than two months after Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said American troops would no longer be required to be vaccinated against the flu.
A day off at the pool — and a little sunburn — didn’t stop the Minnesota Twins’ momentum.
Brooks Lee hit a three-run homer as Minnesota scored multiple runs in the first inning for the third consecutive game, and the Twins went on to complete a series sweep of the Texas Rangers with a 9-3 win Thursday.
Minnesota has won four games in a row and scored 25 runs in the three-games series in Texas. The two teams had a rare, mid-series day off on Wednesday with the England-Croatia World Cup game being played in Arlington.
“We’re locked in every day,” Lee told Audra Martin on the team’s broadcast. “Yesterday, taking time off, lay out by the pool, get a little burnt and then right back to it. We did a good job getting focused. I feel like we do that with rain delays, too, just lock back in and we’re doing it.”
Lee’s 12th homer capped a four-run first off Jack Leiter (3-7). Trevor Larnach made it 6-0 in the fourth with a two-run shot to straightaway center that just cleared the extended glove of leaping Alejandro Osuna. Larnach’s third hit was an RBI single in the fifth, and Ryan Kriedler hit a two-run homer in the eighth.
Joe Ryan (5-3) struck out seven but needed 97 pitches to get through five scoreless innings while allowing three singles. Leiter was done after the fourth, and has given up 17 runs while losing three starts in a row.
The Twins never trailed in the sweep that extended their winning streak to four, matching their longest this season. Their 14-5 record at Globe Life Field is the best for any American League opponent since the ballpark opened in 2020.
Wyatt Langford, Ezequiel Duran and Justin Foscue hit solo homers for the Rangers, who have lost five of six games. They are 0-15 when giving up multiple runs in the first inning.
Twins DH Josh Bell, who was born in nearby Irving and grew up in the area, had an RBI single before Lee’s homer. Bell hit a three-run homer in the first inning of the series-opening 4-2 win Monday, and had an RBI single for a 2-0 lead in the first of a 12-2 win on Tuesday.
“We’re just passing the baton each time,” Lee said of the offensive output. “Our guys are hot. They feel good and they came out swinging today. It was awesome to see. We’ve done that for a while now.”
Up next
Twins rookie left-hander Connor Prielipp (2-4, 5.26 ERA) starts Friday at Arizona. The Diamondbacks are scheduled to start right-hander Michael Soroka (8-3, 3.11).
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