San Diego Padres Claim Infielder Greg Garcia Off Waivers

After sending Raffy Lopez to the Atlanta Braves, the San Diego Padres claimed a former infielder of the St. Louis Cardinals.

Greg Garcia is coming back to California. The El Cajon, California native has been claimed off waivers by the San Diego Padres, per an official team announcement. Garcia has been on the St. Louis Cardinals major league roster for the past five seasons.

The first question that comes to mind for many is, who is Greg Garcia? Garcia was a seventh-round draft pick of the Cardinals in the 2010 MLB draft out of Hawaii. Moving fairly quickly through the minor leagues, Garcia hit .281 with a .380 on-base percentage in 637 career minor league games and continued to show off his on-base ability once reaching the major leagues with St. Louis.

The Cardinals decided to move on from Garcia with an influx of infielders with the ability to get on base already on their roster. Unfortunately, Garcia took a step back at the plate in 2018, making the decision a little easier for St. Louis.

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Appearing in 114 games with the Cardinals, Garcia had just 118 at-bats, hitting three home runs, six doubles, and 15 RBIs with three stolen bases. He finished with a slash line of .221/.309/.304/.613. His on-base percentage has now dropped considerably over the last three seasons, dropping from .393 in 2016, to .365, and now to .309.

The left-handed utility infielder has the ability to play second base, shortstop, and third base and statistically appears to be very similar to current Padres infielder Cory Spangenberg.

This move does raise some eyebrows. He has noticeably declined over the last few seasons and the Padres already have Spangenberg, Christian Villanueva, Carlos Asuaje, and Jose Pirela on the roster that fit the same role as Garcia. Will one or more of these guys be removed from the roster within the next few days? Seems logical.

Welcome home, Greg Garcia!