Timing of García demotion was surprise, but reason wasn't

Inside a rollicking Nationals clubhouse Wednesday afternoon, Luis García was all smiles. He was kidding around with Victor Robles. He was intently watching Ildemaro Vargas get interviewed about his game-winning run in a walk-off, 3-2 victory over the Brewers. By all accounts, he had no idea the news he was about to receive.

García was optioned to Triple-A Rochester a few minutes later, after reporters had left the clubhouse, before the team departed for a weekend series in Cincinnati. The team’s starting second baseman since Aug. 26, 2022, was now a minor leaguer again.

The García move – as well as the requesting of unconditional release waivers on outfielder Corey Dickerson – caught people off-guard because of the timing, minutes after an inspiring, come-from-behind win over a playoff contender. Truth be told, it was probably in the works for a while, the odd timing an unfortunate byproduct.

Make no mistake, García was in a prolonged slump. Over his last 27 games, he was batting .196 with a .227 on-base percentage and .272 slugging percentage. Those are paltry numbers. His defense was fine – he was charged with only two errors over his last 31 games – but that couldn’t make up for his offensive decline.

So the Nationals made the move, perhaps hoping it would serve as something of a wake-up call to the 23-year-old, who has now played in 303 big league games and taken 1,170 plate appearances but just learned he’s not as secure as he perhaps thought.

It in some ways felt like the September 2021 demotion of Robles, who had been the team’s starting center fielder for nearly three years but no longer was performing at a level worthy of leaving him untouchable. Robles spent the final month of that season at Triple-A, then made the Opening Day 2022 roster and (aside from injury rehab assignments) hasn’t been back to the minors since.

It’ll be up to García to earn his way back now. Whatever message the Nationals sent him on the way out, he must take it to heart and put into practice what they’re asking him to do.

What happens in D.C. in the meantime? It appears the first crack at the second base job will go to Jeter Downs, the onetime top prospect of the Dodgers and Red Sox whose career has yet to take off. Downs, who the Washington Post reported will be promoted to take García’s roster spot, is batting only .175 with a .635 OPS at Triple-A, so his stock is as low as it’s ever going to be.

If Downs doesn’t seize this opportunity, perhaps there will be an opening later for Darren Baker, son of Dusty, owner of a .295 average and .741 OPS in Rochester and recently back on the active roster after missing more than a month due to injury. Or, perhaps we’ll see Trey Lipscomb, formerly the third baseman at Double-A Harrisburg but now playing more second base since the promotion of top prospect Brady House.

What about García? This demotion doesn’t mean the end of the road for him, but it does underscore the need for him to re-establish his place in the organizational hierarchy.

A highly touted signee out of the Dominican Republic, García was one of the organization’s top-rated prospects when he made his major league debut at 20 during the abbreviated 2020 season, summoned from the alternate training site in Fredericksburg after Starlin Castro broke his hand. He probably wasn’t big-league ready at the time, but he flashed enough potential to get people excited.

And after a failed experiment to make him a shortstop early last season, García finally settled in at second base down the stretch and finished strong. He ended the 2022 season with a .275 average, .704 OPS and 32 extra-base hits in 377 plate appearances.

But as the Nationals began acquiring the likes of CJ Abrams, MacKenzie Gore, James Wood, Robert Hassell III, Keibert Ruiz and Josiah Gray, then drafted the likes of House, Elijah Green and Dylan Crews, García no longer stood out as a top young player. He’s been lumped in with Abrams and Ruiz because they were the only three young everyday players on this year’s Opening Day roster, but his pedigree doesn’t match the other two.

And on Wednesday, the Nationals underscored that with their decision to demote him. García is now a minor leaguer again. It’s up to him to prove he should be a major league again, sooner rather than later.