Brewers: Avisail Garcia Looking Lean, In Best Shape Of His Life

The Milwaukee Brewers may be getting a new and improved Avisail Garcia in 2021.

The addition of Avisail Garcia in 2020 did not go as planned. After five games, Lorenzo Cain opted out and Garcia, who has been a corner outfielder for most of his career and was signed to play right field, was all of a sudden thrust into the starting centerfield job.

He held his own out there as much as he could defensively, but it was still a downgrade from Cain. Offensively, Garcia tumbled. With the lack of in-game video, a new position, and additional wear and tear on his legs, Garcia’s offensive stats plummeted from expectations.

Signed to a two year deal with a club option for a third, things were not looking great for one of the few multi-year deals the Brewers signed in free agency that winter.

Entering 2021, Garcia is going to need a big year in order to get that contract option picked up and to keep his starting job.

According to Sophia Minnaert, Garcia has dropped 30 pounds this offseason.

Baseball Reference has Garcia listed at 6’4″ and 250 pounds. That makes for a very strong and sturdy frame, but dropping 30 pounds brings him down to 220 pounds. That’s still a big frame but not as much weight to carry around which should improve his speed and durability.

The Brewers are getting Avisail Garcia in the best shape of his life.

As Minnaert said in her tweet, Garcia feels just as strong as before. That’s kind of difficult to do when dropping that much weight so it’s a very positive sign.

Simply put, the Brewers need Garcia to produce like he did when he was with the Rays in 2019 or the White Sox in 2017. They need a bounce-back year from Garcia in the worst way. The offense overall was poor in 2020 and considering the only big addition to this team was Kolten Wong, who isn’t known for power, they’ll need Garcia to step up.

Garcia is likely to man right field this year, a position that traditionally brings a lot of home run power to the lineup. Given the question marks at the infield corner spots, the outfield corner spots will have to produce as expected. With Christian Yelich in left, you can bank pretty heavily on a bounce-back from him, but Garcia might not be as much of a certainty.

However with this news of Garcia dropping weight and possibly being in the best shape of his life, it’s a very encouraging first step.

Avisail Garcia is looking primed and ready for a big 2021 season, and the Brewers need exactly that.