This day in Braves history: Atlanta signs slugging third baseman to minor league deal

The Atlanta Braves made a notable free agent signing essentially right at the start of the 2015 season on this day, April 4, nine years ago, as the organization signed third baseman Adonis Garcia to a minor league deal.

This day in Braves history: Atlanta signs Adonis Garcia to minor league deal

At the time, Garcia was not necessarily the flashiest free agent signing for the Atlanta Braves during that offseason, and rightfully so. This was likely because Garcia, who was 30 years old at the time, had yet to make his MLB debut after spending the entirety of his professional career in the minor leagues of the New York Yankees organization up to that point, as well as being overshadowed due to other free agent signings from a busy Atlanta Braves 2014-15 offseason.

As for Garcia's impact however, the Braves did sign him to a minor league deal, and the former Yankee minor leaguer would go on to spend the majority of 2015 in Triple-A, slashing .284/.314/.369 with three HR, 47 RBI, and five SB across 87 games.

The 2015 season would also mark the MLB debut of Garcia, as the 30-year-old appeared in 58 games with the Braves that year. Across that span, Garcia slashed .277/.293/.497 with 10 HR and 26 RBI, with a majority of his time defensively coming at third base.

Garcia would go on to become a full-time starter at third base for the Braves in 2016, as he appeared in 134 games that year. Across that span, Garcia slashed .273/.311/.406 with 14 HR, 65 RBI, and three SB, and would go on to appear in 52 games with Atlanta in 2017, slashing .237/.273/.347 with five HR, 19 RBI, and four SB.

The 2017 season would however be Garcia's last in a Braves uniform, as Atlanta would release the third baseman in January of 2018. Bringing an end to his time in the organization, Garcia concluded his time in Atlanta with a combined stat line of a .267/.300/.414 slash line with 29 HR, 110 RBI, and seven SB, as well as a -0.2 WAR across 244 games.

Since his release in 2018, Garcia played professionally in numerous different spots overseas, most recently coming in 2021-22. He is now known best for being the brother of Texas Rangers star and World Series champion outfielder Adolis Garcia

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