| Leury García | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 García with the Chicago White Sox | |||||||||||||||
| Free agent | |||||||||||||||
| Utility player | |||||||||||||||
| Born: (1991-03-18)March 18, 1991 (age 34) Santiago, Dominican Republic | |||||||||||||||
Bats: Switch Throws: Right | |||||||||||||||
| MLB debut | |||||||||||||||
| April 6, 2013, for the Texas Rangers | |||||||||||||||
| MLB statistics (through 2022 season) | |||||||||||||||
| Batting average | .253 | ||||||||||||||
| Home runs | 34 | ||||||||||||||
| Runs batted in | 201 | ||||||||||||||
Stats atBaseball Reference  | |||||||||||||||
| Teams | |||||||||||||||
Medals
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Leury García (born March 18, 1991) is aDominican professionalbaseballutility player who is a free agent. He has previously played inMajor League Baseball (MLB) for theTexas Rangers andChicago White Sox. While primarily used as aninfielder andcenter fielder, Garcia has experience at every position exceptcatcher andfirst base.
TheTexas Rangers signed García as an international free agent in December 2007 after he participated in tryouts in theDominican Republic.[1] He played in theRookie-levelArizona League for theArizona League Rangers in 2008.[2]
Garcia played for theHickory Crawdads of theSingle–ASouth Atlantic League in 2009 and 2010,[2][3]stealing 47 bases in 56 attempts during the 2010 season. He was promoted to theMyrtle Beach Pelicans of theHigh–ACarolina League in 2011.[1] He was voted the Carolina League Player of the Month for June 2011, in which he batted 38-for-111 (.342batting average), leading the league with 22runs, 38hits, 51total bases, and 10 stolen bases.[2] He was assigned to play for theFrisco RoughRiders of theDouble–ATexas League for the 2012 season.[4] After batting .292 with 12doubles, 11triples, twohome runs, 30runs batted in, and 31 stolen bases in 100 games for Frisco, the Rangers added García to their 40-man roster after the 2012 season to protect him from being selected by another team in theRule 5 draft.[5]
García played for theDominican Republic national baseball team in the2013 World Baseball Classic. He spent most games not playing, but observing veteran shortstopsMiguel Tejada andJose Reyes.[6] He made the Rangers'Opening Day roster for the 2013 season as autility infielder.[7] He made his major league debut on April 6 as apinch hitter forLance Berkman,striking out in his firstat-bat.[8] He was optioned to the Triple-ARound Rock Express on June 14, 2013, whenIan Kinsler returned from the disabled list.[9]
On August 11, 2013, the Rangers traded García to theChicago White Sox as theplayer to be named later in the trade that sentAlex Ríos to Texas. He was then optioned to theTriple-ACharlotte Knights.[10] The White Sox promoted García on August 22.[11] In 20 games with Chicago in 2013, he hit .204 with 1 RBI and 6 SB.
With bothGordon Beckham andJeff Keppinger injured to begin the season, García made the Opening Day roster in 2014.[12] On April 16, García made his first career appearance on the mound, working the 14th inning in a game against Boston. He gave up 2 runs on 2 walks and a double, picking up the loss.[13] On June 4, García hit his first major-league home run, a go-ahead solo shot off of Dodgers starterJosh Beckett. On July 2, 2014, García got his first walk-off hit with a pinch hit single off ofLos Angeles Angels pitcherMike Morin to win the game for the White Sox 3–2. In 74 games for Chicago, García slashed .166/.192/.207 with 6 home runs and 11 RBI.
García played sparingly with the White Sox in 2015 and 2016, appearing in 18 games each season while spending the majority of his time with the Triple-ACharlotte Knights. He returned to regular action for Chicago in 2017, playing in 87 games and batting a respectable .270/.316/.423 with 9 home runs, 33 RBI, and 8 stolen bases. In 2018, made 82 appearances for the team, hitting .271/.303/.376 with 4 home runs, 32 RBI, and 12 stolen bases.
In 2019 he batted .279/.310/.378 in a career-high 140 games played, and led the American League inground ball percentage (54.9%), while having the lowestfly ball percentage in the AL (23.6%).[14] He also led the American League with 11 sacrifice hits.[15]
García appeared in 16 games in 2020 before he injured his left thumb after he attempted to beat a throw to first base with a headfirst slide in a game against theDetroit Tigers that required surgery ending his 2020 regular season.[16] He was able to return in time for the postseason. He made his postseason debut in game 1 of theWild Card Series against theOakland Athletics.
On September 12, 2021, García hit awalk-off home run off ofBoston Red Sox pitcherGarrett Whitlock to win the game for the White Sox 2–1.[17] After collecting his first postseason hit on October 8, García hit his first postseason home run off ofYimi García two days later to take a 6–5 lead over the Houston Astros in Game 3 of theAmerican League Division Series.[18][19] The White Sox won the game 12–6 to force a Game 4, which they lost. In 126 games in 2021, García hit .267/.335/.736 with five home runs and 54 RBIs while batting .200 in the postseason.[20] On December 1, 2021, García re-signed with the White Sox on a three-year, $16.5 million contract.[21] In 97 contests for the team in 2022, García slashed .210/.233/.267 with 3 home runs, 20 RBI, and 2 stolen bases.
García did not make the White Sox's Opening Day roster and was released on March 30, 2023.[22][23]
On December 6, 2023, after spending the previous season out of baseball, García signed a minor league contract with theAtlanta Braves.[24] He played in only 27 games for the Triple–AGwinnett Stripers, slashing .320/.374/.450 with one home run, 14 RBI, and four stolen bases. García was released by the Braves organization on September 25, 2024.[25]
García has two sisters who live in Santiago.[1]
