Aramis Michael Garcia (born January 12, 1993) is an American professional baseball catcher in the Arizona Diamondbacks organization. The San Francisco Giants selected Garcia in the second round of the 2014 MLB draft. He made his Major League Baseball (MLB) debut with the Giants in 2018 and has also played for the Oakland Athletics, Cincinnati Reds, and Philadelphia Phillies.

Aramis Garcia
Arizona Diamondbacks
Catcher
Born: (1993-01-12) January 12, 1993 (age 31)
Hialeah, Florida, U.S.
Bats: Right
Throws: Right
MLB debut
August 31, 2018, for the San Francisco Giants
MLB statistics
(through 2024 season)
Batting average.211
Home runs10
Runs batted in25
Stats at Baseball Reference Edit this at Wikidata
Teams

Early life

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Garcia attended Pembroke Pines Charter High School in Pembroke Pines, Florida.

College career

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He enrolled at Florida International University (FIU) to play college baseball for the FIU Panthers.[1] In 2012 and 2013, he played collegiate summer baseball with the Cotuit Kettleers of the Cape Cod Baseball League.[2][3] In 2014, Garcia batted .368/.442/.626 and was named the Conference USA Baseball Player of the Year[4][5] and a semifinalist for the Johnny Bench Award.[6]

Professional career

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San Francisco Giants

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Minor leagues (2014–2018)

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The St. Louis Cardinals selected him in the 20th round of the 2011 Major League Baseball draft, but he did not sign a contract with them.[7] The San Francisco Giants selected Garcia in the second round, with the 52nd overall selection, of the 2014 Major League Baseball draft. The Giants signed Garcia to a contract with a $1.1 million signing bonus.[7][8] In his first professional season, he played for both the AZL Giants and the Salem-Keizer Volcanoes, posting a combined .225 batting average with two home runs and 15 RBIs. He began the 2015 season with the Augusta GreenJackets of the Single–A South Atlantic League, where he was named a midseason All-Star.[9][10] He received a midseason promotion to the San Jose Giants of the High–A California League and finished the year there; in 103 total games between the two teams, he batted .264/.342/.431 with 15 home runs and 66 RBIs.

Garcia received an invitation to spring training in 2016 as a non-roster player.[11][12] He missed two months of the 2016 season due to multiple facial fractures he suffered during a May 22 game.[13] When he returned, he played for San Jose where he batted .257/323/340 with two home runs and 20 RBIs in 41 games. In 2017, he played for both San Jose and the Richmond Flying Squirrels of the Double–A Eastern League, posting a combined .274 batting average with 17 home runs and 73 RBIs along with an .808 OPS in 103 games between the two games.[14] The Giants added him to their 40-man roster after the 2017 season.[15]

In 2018, Garcia played 80 games for Richmond, and then was promoted to the Sacramento River Cats of the Triple–A Pacific Coast League.

Major leagues (2018–2019)

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With Buster Posey undergoing season-ending surgery, the Giants promoted Garcia to the major leagues on August 26.[16] He played his first game on August 31, and hit a home run in his debut.[17]

He played in the 2019 season with Triple–A Sacramento, batting .271/.343/.488 with 16 home runs and 55 RBI in 332 at bats.[4] He also played 18 games for the Giants, hitting .143/.217/.310 with 2 home runs and 5 RBI.[4] Garcia did not play in a game in 2020 due to the cancellation of the minor league season because of the COVID-19 pandemic.[18] On November 20, 2020, Garcia was designated for assignment.[19]

Oakland Athletics (2021)

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On November 25, 2020, the Texas Rangers claimed Garcia off of waivers.[20] On February 6, 2021, the Rangers traded Garcia and Elvis Andrus to the Oakland Athletics in exchange for Khris Davis, Jonah Heim, and Dane Acker.[21] Garcia hit .205/.239/.318 in 32 games for the Athletics before he was designated for assignment on September 20, 2021.[22] Garcia was released by Oakland on September 22.

Cincinnati Reds (2022)

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On November 29, 2021, Garcia signed a minor league contract with the Cincinnati Reds.[23] On April 4, 2022, it was announced that he had made the 2022 opening day roster. On July 7, he was placed on the injured list with an elbow injury and a broken left middle finger, and was transferred to the 60-day injured list on August 11.[24] Garcia was activated on October 4, with two games remaining in the season.[25] He appeared in 47 games for Cincinnati, slashing .213/.248/.259 with one home run and 4 RBI.

On October 14, 2022, Garcia was claimed off waivers by the Baltimore Orioles.[26] On October 30, Garcia was removed from the 40-man roster and sent outright to the Triple–A Norfolk Tides.[27] On November 1, Garcia elected free agency in lieu of the outright assignment.[28]

Philadelphia Phillies

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On February 16, 2023, Garcia signed a minor league contract with the Philadelphia Phillies organization.[29] In 56 games split between the High–A Jersey Shore BlueClaws and Triple–A Lehigh Valley IronPigs, he slashed .243/.284/.505 with 14 home runs and 46 RBI.

Garcia began the 2024 campaign with Lehigh Valley, playing in 74 games and batting .163/.219/.287 with eight home runs, 25 RBI, and six stolen bases. On September 7, 2024, the Phillies selected Garcia's contract, adding him to their active roster.[30] In 3 games for the Phillies, he went 0–for–7 with 3 strikeouts. Garcia was designated for assignment by Philadelphia on September 15.[31] He cleared waivers and was sent outright to Lehigh Valley on September 17.[32] Garcia elected free agency on October 15.[33]

Arizona Diamondbacks

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On November 15, 2024, Garcia signed a minor league contract with the Arizona Diamondbacks.[34]

References

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  1. ^ "FIU's Aramis Garcia selected by San Francisco Giants in MLB Draft". tribunedigital-sunsentinel. Archived from the original on February 3, 2016. Retrieved January 28, 2016.
  2. ^ "#12 Aramis Garcia - Profile". pointstreak.com. Retrieved January 9, 2020.
  3. ^ "Aramis Garcia - Profile". pointstreak.com. Retrieved January 9, 2020.
  4. ^ a b c "Aramis Garcia College, Minor & Fall Leagues Statistics & History". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved November 19, 2019.
  5. ^ "Aramis Garcia will catch for FIU in Conference USA tournament opener". miamiherald. Retrieved January 28, 2016.
  6. ^ "Giants draft Florida International catcher Aramis Garcia". CSN Bay Area. Archived from the original on February 4, 2016. Retrieved January 28, 2016.
  7. ^ a b "Report: Giants agree to terms with second-rounder". CSN Bay Area. Archived from the original on March 18, 2015. Retrieved January 28, 2016.
  8. ^ "Giants sign second-round Draft pick Aramis Garcia". Major League Baseball. Retrieved January 28, 2016.
  9. ^ "Garcia heads GreenJackets All-Stars getting recognition". The Augusta Chronicle. Retrieved January 28, 2016.
  10. ^ "GreenJackets' Garcia breaking out at plate". The Augusta Chronicle. Retrieved January 28, 2016.
  11. ^ "Former SJ Giants Receive Spring Training Invites". Inside the San Jose Giants. Retrieved January 28, 2016.
  12. ^ John Shea (January 26, 2016). "Giants' non-roster invitees include Tyler Beede, Christian Arroyo". SFGate. Retrieved January 28, 2016.
  13. ^ "Q&A with Giants' top catching prospect Aramis Garcia". Giant Potential. Retrieved February 20, 2018.
  14. ^ "Aramis Garcia Stats, Highlights, Bio - MiLB.com Stats - The Official Site of Minor League Baseball". MiLB.com. Retrieved February 20, 2018.
  15. ^ Schulman, Henry (November 20, 2017). "Giants add Beede, three others to 40-man roster; A's DFA Brugman". SFGate. Retrieved August 25, 2018.
  16. ^ Haft, Chris (May 24, 2018). "Aramis Garcia to fill Buster Posey roster spot | San Francisco Giants". Mlb.com. Retrieved August 25, 2018.
  17. ^ Hutchinson, Jacob (August 31, 2018). "Suarez shines again, Garcia and Shaw provide run support in debut win over Mets". Retrieved September 2, 2018.
  18. ^ "2020 Minor League Baseball season cancelled". mlb.com. Retrieved June 29, 2023.
  19. ^ "Giants Designate Chris Shaw, Aramis Garcia, Jordan Humphreys". November 20, 2020.
  20. ^ "Rangers Claim Aramis Garcia from Giants". November 25, 2020.
  21. ^ "Rangers to Acquire Khris Davis from A's for Elvis Andrus". February 6, 2021.
  22. ^ "A's Chris Bassitt could be activated this week after facial surgery". September 21, 2021.
  23. ^ "Reds Sign Aramis Garcia to Minor League Deal". November 29, 2021.
  24. ^ "Reds' Aramis Garcia: Shifts to 60-day IL". cbssports.com. Retrieved May 30, 2023.
  25. ^ "Reds' Aramis Garcia: Activated Tuesday". cbssports.com. Retrieved June 28, 2023.
  26. ^ Polishuk, Mark. "Orioles Designate Louis Head, Beau Sulser; Claim Aramis Garcia, Mark Kolozsvary," MLB Trade Rumors, Friday, October 14, 2022. Retrieved October 14, 2022.
  27. ^ "Orioles' Aramis Garcia: Falls off 40-man roster". cbssports.com. October 30, 2022. Retrieved June 29, 2023.
  28. ^ "Aramis Garcia: Picks free agency". cbssports.com. November 4, 2022. Retrieved June 29, 2023.
  29. ^ "Phillies' Aramis Garcia: Inks NRI deal with Philly". cbssports.com. Retrieved February 16, 2023.
  30. ^ "Phillies Announce Four Roster Moves". mlbtraderumors.com. Retrieved September 7, 2024.
  31. ^ "Phillies activate All-Star 3B Alec Bohm from IL". ESPN.com. September 15, 2024. Retrieved September 16, 2024.
  32. ^ "Phillies Outright Aramis Garcia". mlbtraderumors.com. September 17, 2024. Retrieved September 20, 2024.
  33. ^ Franco, Anthony (October 15, 2024). "Eight Players Elect Free Agency". MLB Trade Rumors. Retrieved October 16, 2024.
  34. ^ "Diamondbacks Sign Aramis Garcia To Minor League Deal". mlbtraderumors.com. Retrieved November 16, 2024.
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