Avisaíl Antonio García Yaguarin (; born June 12, 1991) is a Venezuelan professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

right fielder A right fielder, abbreviated RF, is the outfielder in baseball or softball who plays defense in right field. Right field is the area of the outfield to the right of a person standing at home plate and facing towards the pitcher's mound. In the ...

who is a free agent. He has previously played in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

(MLB) for the

Detroit Tigers The Detroit Tigers are an American professional baseball team based in Detroit. The Tigers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. One of the AL's eight chart ...

Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. The club plays its ...

Tampa Bay Rays The Tampa Bay Rays are an American professional baseball team based in the Tampa Bay area. The Rays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East Division. They are one of two major ...

Milwaukee Brewers The Milwaukee Brewers are an American professional baseball team based in Milwaukee. The Brewers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Di ...

, and

Miami Marlins The Miami Marlins are an American professional baseball team based in Miami. The Marlins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League East, East Division. The ...

. He signed with the Tigers as a non-drafted

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player or manager who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under a contract at present ...

in 2007. He made his major league debut in 2012.

Professional career

Detroit Tigers

2011–2012

García was invited to

spring training Spring training, also called spring camp, is the preseason of the Summer Professional Baseball Leagues, such as Major League Baseball (MLB), and it is a series of practices and exhibition games preceding the start of the regular season. Spri ...

with the

in 2011 and 2012, after signing with them as a non-drafted

in 2007. After the 2011 season, he was added to the Tigers 40-man roster. He was named 2012 Minor League Player of the Year for the Tigers farm system, and first appeared on the major-league team on August 31, 2012. He hit .319 in 23 games, and made the playoff roster, appearing in the

League Division Series The Division Series is the quarterfinal round of the Major League Baseball postseason. Four series are played in this round, two each for both the American League and the National League. 1981 season The first use of the term "Division Series" ...

League Championship Series The League Championship Series (LCS) is the semifinal round of postseason play in Major League Baseball which has been conducted since 1969. In 1981, and since 1995, the two annual series have matched up the winners of the Division Series, ...

and

2012 World Series The 2012 World Series was the championship series of Major League Baseball's (MLB) 2012 season. The 108th edition of the World Series, the series was a best-of-seven playoff between the National League (NL) champion San Francisco Giants and th ...

. In 23 postseason at-bats, García hit .261 with a double and four RBIs. He is noted for his resemblance to former teammate

Miguel Cabrera José Miguel Cabrera Torres (born April 18, 1983), nicknamed Miggy, is a Venezuelan former professional baseball first baseman, third baseman, and designated hitter who played 21 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Florida Marlins a ...

, earning him the nickname "Little Miggy". Both stand tall, weigh , bat right-handed, and hail from Venezuela.

2013

García entered the 2013 season with an outside shot to make the Tigers' opening day roster, but that possibility ended when he was placed on the 15-day

disabled list In Major League Baseball (MLB), the injured list (IL) is a method for teams to remove their injured players from the roster in order to summon healthy players. Before the 2019 Major League Baseball season, 2019 season, it was known as the disabl ...

(DL) March 26 (retroactive to March 22) with a heel

contusion A bruise, also known as a contusion, is a type of hematoma of tissue, the most common cause being capillaries damaged by trauma, causing localized bleeding that extravasates into the surrounding interstitial tissues. Most bruises occur clo ...

. He was brought up to the Tigers in May when Austin Jackson was placed on the DL. On May 15, Garcia hit his first major league home run. In June, García was optioned to the Triple-A

Toledo Mud Hens The Toledo Mud Hens are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Detroit Tigers. They are located in Toledo, Ohio, and play their home games at Fifth Third Field. A baseball team nicknamed the ...

when Jackson came off the DL, but was recalled four days later when

Aníbal Sánchez Aníbal Alejandro Sánchez Jr. (; born February 27, 1984) is a Venezuelan former professional baseball pitcher. He made his Major League Baseball (MLB) debut in 2006 with the Miami Marlins, Florida Marlins and also played for the Detroit Tigers, ...

was placed on the DL. On July 7, 2013, during a game for the Triple-A Toledo Mud Hens, García hit for the

cycle Cycle, cycles, or cyclic may refer to: Anthropology and social sciences * Cyclic history, a theory of history * Cyclical theory, a theory of American political history associated with Arthur Schlesinger, Sr. * Social cycle, various cycles in ...

in a 9–7 victory over the

Indianapolis Indians The Indianapolis Indians are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates. They are located in Indianapolis, Indiana, and play their home games at Victory ...

. This marked the first cycle for a Mud Hen since

Ryan Raburn Ryan Neil Raburn (born April 17, 1981) is an American former professional baseball outfielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Detroit Tigers, Cleveland Indians, Colorado Rockies and Washington Nationals. While primarily an outf ...

on May 27, 2007. In 2013 with the Tigers he batted .241/.273/.373.

Chicago White Sox

2013–2014

On July 30, 2013, García was traded to the

in a three-team trade that sent

Jake Peavy Jacob Edward Peavy (born May 31, 1981) is an American former professional baseball pitcher, who is currently an on-air analyst for MLB Network. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the San Diego Padres, Chicago White Sox, Boston Red Sox, ...

and

Brayan Villarreal Brayan Rene Villarreal (born May 10, 1987) is a Venezuelan professional baseball pitcher who is a free agent. He has previously played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Detroit Tigers and Boston Red Sox. He is 6'0" tall and weighs 170 pounds ...

to the

Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East Division. Founded in as one of the Ameri ...

, José Iglesias to the Detroit Tigers, and

Frankie Montas Francelis Montas Luna (born March 21, 1993) is a Dominican professional baseball pitcher for the New York Mets of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the Chicago White Sox, Oakland Athletics, New York Yankees, Cincin ...

to the White Sox. García initially reported to the White Sox Triple-A affiliate, the

Charlotte Knights The Charlotte Knights are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Chicago White Sox. They are located in Charlotte, North Carolina, and play their home games at Truist Field ...

. Between Charlotte and Toledo, he led the

International League The International League (IL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the United States. Along with the Pacific Coast League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A level, which is one grade below Major ...

batting average Batting average is a statistic in cricket, baseball, and softball that measures the performance of batters. The development of the baseball statistic was influenced by the cricket statistic. Cricket In cricket, a player's batting average is ...

with a .374 mark. When the White Sox traded

Alex Ríos Alexis Israel Ríos (born February 18, 1981) is an American former professional baseball right fielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Toronto Blue Jays, Chicago White Sox, Texas Rangers, and Kansas City Royals. A World Serie ...

on August 9, they promoted García to the major leagues. He started his first game with the White Sox on August 10, and collected his first hit with the team in the sixth inning. García came out of a game against the

Colorado Rockies The Colorado Rockies are an American professional baseball team based in Denver. The Rockies compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Division. Th ...

on April 9, 2014, after he jammed his left shoulder after attempting a diving catch in right field. The next day, an MRI revealed that his left shoulder had a torn labrum. He was then placed on the 60-day disabled list. Despite projections that he would be out for the season, García recovered incredibly quick and was activated from the DL on August 16, 2013. Limited to only 46 games in 2014, García batted .244/.305/.413 with seven home runs and 29 RBIs.

2015–2018

In 148 games in 2015, García hit .257/.309/.365 with 13 home runs and 59 RBIs. García played in only 120 games in 2016 due to injury, hitting .245/.307/.385 with 12 home runs and 51 RBIs. On December 3, García and the White Sox avoided salary arbitration by agreeing to a one-year, $3 million contract for the 2017 season. In 2017, García set career highs in average (.330), runs (75), home runs (18) and RBIs (80). Garcia was named to his first-ever all star game. For the season, he had the highest

batting average on balls in play In baseball statistics, batting average on balls in play (abbreviated BABIP) is a measurement of how often batted balls result in hits, excluding home runs. It can be expressed as, "when you hit the ball and it’s not a home run, what’s your b ...

(.392) of all major league players, and swung at 59.0% of all pitches he saw, tops in the major leagues. He also led all MLB hitters (60 or more plate appearances) in batting average against left-handers, at .424. García was placed on the disabled list for the second time in the season on July 10 with a

hamstring A hamstring () is any one of the three posterior thigh muscles in human anatomy between the hip and the knee: from medial to lateral, the semimembranosus, semitendinosus and biceps femoris. Etymology The word " ham" is derived from the Old ...

injury, limiting him to just 35 games played in the first half of the season. For the season he batted .236/.281/.438 with 19 home runs.

Tampa Bay Rays

On January 18, 2019, García signed a one-year, $6 million deal with the

. Garcia delivered solid numbers while in Tampa Bay, posting a .282 average, .a 332 on-base percentage, and a .464 slugging percentage. He became a free agent after the season.

Milwaukee Brewers

On December 17, 2019, García signed a two-year contract worth $20 million with the

. García's contract contains a club option for a third season at $12 million, attached to a $2 million buyout. This contract option became a mutual option when he accumulated 1,050 plate appearances in 2020-21. Per the agreement between the

Major League Baseball Players Association The Major League Baseball Players Association (MLBPA) is the labor union representing all current Major League Baseball (MLB) and Minor League Baseball (MiLB) players. All players, managers, coaches, and athletic trainers who hold or have held ...

and

, vesting options dependent on accumulated stats for 2020 were prorated for the number of games played (60). After the 2021 season he declined his half of the option and became a free agent.

Miami Marlins

On December 1, 2021, García signed a four-year, $53 million contract with the

. He played in 98 games for the Marlins in 2022, hitting .224/.266/.317 with eight home runs and 35 RBI. 2023 was an injury–riddled season for García, as he appeared in only 37 games and hit .185/.241/.315 with three home runs and 12 RBI. In 2024, García hit .240 in 18 games before suffering an injury. On June 4, 2024, García was

designated for assignment Designated for assignment (DFA) is a contractual term used in Major League Baseball (MLB). A player who is designated for assignment is immediately removed from the team's 40-man roster, after which the team must, within seven days, return the pla ...

by Miami. He was released by the organization on June 9. On October 24, 2024, García underwent surgery to treat a fracture and disc issue in his lower back. On February 6, 2025, it was announced that García would likely miss the entire 2025 season due to the injury.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Garcia, Avisail 1991 births Living people American League All-Stars Caribes de Anzoátegui players Charlotte Knights players Chicago White Sox players Detroit Tigers players Erie SeaWolves players Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp players Lakeland Flying Tigers players Major League Baseball players from Venezuela 21st-century Venezuelan sportsmen Major League Baseball right fielders Miami Marlins players Milwaukee Brewers players Pensacola Blue Wahoos players Baseball players from Anzoátegui Tampa Bay Rays players Toledo Mud Hens players Venezuelan expatriate baseball players in the United States Venezuelan Summer League Tigers players West Michigan Whitecaps players