Maikel Garcia is having a fine year, but he’s not the long-term solution at third

Moving him to second and adding a different third baseman improves the lineup

Last Wednesday’s game against the Texas Rangers, Maikel Garcia had himself a day.

At the plate, he blasted a three-run home run to give the Royals a lead they’d never relinquish, then later drove in the team’s insurance run on a nice poke to the opposite field that, with the assistance of some shoddy fielding, he turned into a triple, and then scored the team’s sixth and final run two batters later.

That RBI triple came in the top of the eighth. Just a half-frame earlier, he prevented the Rangers tying the game at four.

With Wyatt Langford (who had a great night at the plate himself) on second, Marcus Semien hit a sharp grounder down the third-base line. Garcia moved to his right, snazzily snagged the ball, preventing it from reaching the outfield, and then fired to first to nail Semien.

Well...all of that happened, except for the last part. I guess one could describe Garcia’s throw to first as “firing” it. Granted, Garcia—again, moving to his right, away from first base—threw off-balance, but the throw never came close to getting out Semien, who easily made it.

Garcia’s leatherwork was impressive, though. Highly impressive. It was a feat to keep that ball from going into left, in which case Langford would easily have scored to tie the game 4-4, and Semien most likely ends up at second with only one out.

Instead, Langford stopped at third and Semien made it no further than first.

The very next batter, Adolis Garcia (who in the bottom of the eighth would botch fielding Garcia’s hit to right, turning it into an easy triple) sharply grounded into an inning-ending 6-4-3 double-play. The Royals escaped with the lead intact before adding two more, winning the game—and the series.

And therein lies the dichotomy of Maikel Garcia, Third Baseman.

From my eye test, based on more than just that one play, Garcia doesn’t have the arm to hold down the hot corner for years on end. Now, the glove passes the test, sure, but not the arm. Interestingly, Garcia’s Statcast page says the opposite: it gives him a failing grade for his glove but a well-above-average grade for his arm. Statcast gives him a -1 for Outs Above Average at third so far in 2025.

What keeps Garcia holding down third for the time being is, of course, the emergence of his bat. After struggling last year to the tune of a .614 OPS (26% below league-average), Garcia has surged offensively. One year after slashing .231/.281/.332, he’s slashing .312/.372/.487 for an .860 OPS and a 139 OPS+, not to mention much higher than his career line of .251/.301/.344/.645 entering this season.

I’m not trying to be a jerk, but I wonder how sustainable those numbers are.

Regardless, those numbers, even if a little lower, would look a heck of a lot better at second base.

I’ve written before how the Royals should target a specific center fielder, but another area that’s haunted this team for years is third base. Garcia has darn near exorcised that burden, but he looks out of place at third. Move him to second and bring in a guy like Ryan McMahon or Eugenio Suarez for the hot corner.

McMahon is 30 but club-controlled until 2027 on a reasonable extension he signed with the Rockies back in 2022. His offensive numbers don’t match Garcia's, but his .411 slugging would be fourth on the Royals among regulars, with his .334 OBP ranking just behind Garcia and Bobby Witt Jr. He’s also one of the top defensive third basemen in the league, tied for second in OAA.

Suarez is a different animal. Dude is a free agent at the end of the year, hits for power—slugging .533!—but is a worse defender at third than is Garcia, taking a massive step backward from years past. As he ages, that won’t get better. Still, his power makes up for it, and would completely change the dynamic of the Royals’ lineup.

McMahon, of course, could be acquired via trade while the Royals could wait to go after Saurez in free agency after the season.

Regardless of what the Royals do, keeping Garcia in the lineup will be key. The team would be that much stronger with him at second and a new, more prototypical third baseman manning that position.