The siren song of Dermis Garcia with the Oakland A’s

It is easy to see why the Oakland A’s would be fascinated with Dermis Garcia.

The powerful first baseman has a tendency to send the ball traveling impressive distances when he can get his bat on the ball. Garcia had five homers and only 126 plate appearances in the majors, but his 467 foot blast against Anibal Sanchez on August 31 was the 14th longest in the majors this season.

Dermis Garcia may not actually be an answer for Oakland A’s

Garcia has long been known for his tremendous power potential. That had been on display during his time in the Yankees system as he belted 31 homers in Double-A in 2021. However, he also struck out 168 times in his 443 plate appearances, limiting the damage he was able to do.

While Garcia did cut down on his strikeout rate during his time in Triple-A with the A’s, the same could not be said in the majors. He ended the season with five homers and six doubles in his 125 plate appearances but drew just eight walks while striking out 55 times. That led to an absurd 44.0% strikeout rate, something that has to be a reason for pause.

That is something that the A’s are going to have to watch heading into next season. Garcia has the type of power that no one else on the roster possesses, capable of changing the game almost any time he is at bat. But he has to make contact first.

Maybe those adjustments Garcia made to improve his contact rate in Triple-A will eventually translate to the majors. Even if that does not happen, his immense power potential will lead to chances that he may not otherwise get. For a lineup as starved for power as the A’s will be in the near future, the sound of his bat when putting a ball into the stratosphere is a siren song.

Dermis Garcia has the type of power that the Oakland A’s lack. His extreme contact issues could make his ability to hit home runs irrelevant.