Oakland A’s have a Dermis Garcia problem

In theory, Dermis Garcia is the type of player that the Oakland A’s should be giving playing time to at the major league level. The 24 year old first baseman showcased his power potential with 31 homers at Double-A last season before signing with the A’s as a minor league free agent, giving the organization an intriguing power prospect as he had been compared to Miguel Sano.

The A’s appeared to have unlocked s solid player as they made some adjustments to his approach. While the power numbers were down, he did improve his walk and strikeout rates. Garcia still had his warts, but he was a more complete hitter in Triple-A.

Oakland A’s need path for Dermis Garcia

The problem is that Garcia did not get much of a chance. He appeared in just eight games in his first month in the majors before being sent back to Triple-A. Back once again, he has received just four plate appearances in two games.

While Garcia has been solid enough, there is one major issue to his getting playing time. Seth Brown has been one of the few A’s players that has produced at a better than league average rate. While his 105 OPS+ may not be earth shattering, he does lead the team with 17 homers. The A’s need to keep him in the lineup.

That impacts Garcia’s ability to contribute. While Brown can play either corner outfield spot as well, Garcia is essentially a first baseman only at this stage. He does have experience at third, but has also played just five games at the hot corner since the end of 2018. Meanwhile, the A’s are rotating Shea Langeliers and Sean Murphy between catcher and the designated hitter spot, limiting his chances there.

At some point, the A’s are going to need to give Garcia more of a chance. He has just 26 plate appearances over ten games in approximately a month’s worth of major league service time. Garcia has the potential to be an impact bat in the middle of the order power option going forward, but they will not know if that is the case if he does not play.

The Oakland A’s need to see what they have with Dermis Garcia. The problem is that they do not have a spot for him in the lineup.