{"id":7725,"date":"2026-07-17T11:37:06","date_gmt":"2026-07-17T11:37:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=7725"},"modified":"2026-07-17T11:37:06","modified_gmt":"2026-07-17T11:37:06","slug":"luis-garcia-jr-is-enjoying-a-career-year-a-decade-in-the-making","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=7725","title":{"rendered":"Luis Garc\u00eda Jr. is enjoying a career year a decade in the making"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Nationals infielder Luis Garc\u00eda Jr. hit 20 home runs during the first half of the season. (Jess Rapfogel\/Getty Images)<\/figcaption>\n<\/figure>\n

After every home run he hits, Washington Nationals infielder Luis Garc\u00eda Jr. taps his wrist where a watch would be.<\/p>

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It\u2019s to signify that it\u2019s his time, he explained after he hit his career-best 20th home run July 8, to run the bases, to be in the spotlight, to help his team. This season, that\u2019s been the case more than ever. He was hitting .284 with an .871 on-base plus slugging percentage heading into Friday\u2019s game against the Athletics in Sacramento \u2014 marks that would be the best of his career over a full season.<\/p>\n

The Nationals went 48-49 in the first half of the season \u2014 a year after finishing 30 games below .500 \u2014 because of improvements across the lineup. Helping to lead that charge was Garc\u00eda, the longest-tenured player of the team, who has been with Washington through all the triumphs and tribulations of the last decade. Garc\u00eda saw the Nationals win a World Series<\/a>, tear it all down and slowly rebuild their foundation.<\/p>\n

Now, with Washington the edge of competitiveness, he can finally see the light at the end of the tunnel.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt means a lot to me,\u201d Garc\u00eda said through an interpreter. \u201cI\u2019ve been here in this organization through a lot. Just being here present, being here for my teammates, that is really important.\u201d<\/p>\n

His journey with the Nationals started in 2016, when he signed as an international free agent for $1.3 million, the second-largest signing bonus in franchise history. He participated in his first major league camp in 2019, then watched the team\u2019s World Series run while playing in the Arizona Fall League later that year.<\/p>\n

That excited Garc\u00eda for his turn to join the team. Except by the time he debuted midway through the 2020 season<\/a>, the Nationals had already started their decline. Washington lost at least 91 games for the next five seasons. In 2022, the team went 55-107 to set a Nationals record for losses.<\/p>\n

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\u201cI\u2019ve been here in this organization through a lot,\u201d Garc\u00eda said. \u201cJust being here present, being here for my teammates, that is really important.\u201d<\/figcaption>\n<\/figure>\n

There were lessons even in those hard times, though. Garc\u00eda was barely 20 when he debuted. It wasn\u2019t until the 2024 season, four years later, that he truly felt like he was mature enough to do what it takes to be a successful major league player.<\/p>\n

Before that season, he would show up, swing the bat a few times, then play. But in 2024, he developed a routine and started to take his cage work more seriously. The results followed his hard work \u2014 he hit .282 with 18 home runs in 140 games, all the best marks of his career. Until this year, that is.<\/p>\n

When he arrived at spring training this year, the first under a new front office and coaching staff<\/a>, things just felt different, he said. The leadership was serious yet loose, a vibe that rubbed off quickly on the clubhouse \u2014 including Garc\u00eda.<\/p>

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It\u2019s how Garc\u00eda likes to handle himself as well. He likes to have fun, whether it be dancing, egging on his teammates (he and shortstop CJ Abrams love their trash talk) or doing elaborate handshakes. But he also knows when to focus.<\/p>\n

\u201cI feel as a group that got contagious, and it, of course, motivated us to work hard and everything as a group,\u201d he said. \u201cBut it all started with them.\u201d<\/p>\n

Earlier in camp, Manager Blake Butera took Garc\u00eda aside and told him what he thinks makes the infielder special \u2014 and what he can improve. Garc\u00eda has incredible hand-eye coordination, Butera told him, but he was not shrinking the zone, walking enough or keying in on the pitches he could punish.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think his greatest strength is that he can hit everything,\u201d Butera said. \u201cI think his greatest weakness is that he can hit everything. … When he is able to simplify his approach and not focus on just balls he can hit but balls he can drive, then you see the results that we are seeing right now.\u201d<\/p>\n

But that wasn\u2019t just a talk the two had once. Every time Butera passed Garc\u00eda in a hallway, entered a batting cage the 26-year-old was hitting in or stood by him during fielding work, Butera whispered in his ear and reminded him of his potential.<\/p>\n

Butera told Garc\u00eda that he had the tools to be one of the best hitters in MLB. Now, they are seeing that play out. Garc\u00eda\u2019s 15 home runs since June 5 lead the majors. He\u2019s attacking not just fastballs at the top of the zone, which have always been his bread and butter, but also breaking balls.<\/p>\n

He\u2019s walking more, too; he has 15, on track to best his career high of 27. Plus he\u2019s beating Keibert Ruiz in that category \u2014 and the two are in a competition to see who can walk more. (The prize is still to be determined.)<\/p>\n

Now that Garc\u00eda has achieved a career goal by hitting the 20-homer mark, his focus is on continuing to improve, in the box score and beyond.<\/p>\n

\u201cI guess people see the numbers and they think that\u2019s what you\u2019re most proud of,\u201d he said. \u201cBut for me personally, I think it\u2019s just how much I\u2019ve matured over the years, being a great teammate and just being a great person.\u201d<\/p>

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Signed in 2016, the infielder has posted improved numbers across the board for the resurgent Nationals.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":7722,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7725","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-interesting"],"yoast_head":"\nLuis Garc\u00eda Jr. is enjoying a career year a decade in the making - Moving Insider USA<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=7725\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Luis Garc\u00eda Jr. is enjoying a career year a decade in the making - Moving Insider USA\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Signed in 2016, the infielder has posted improved numbers across the board for the resurgent Nationals.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=7725\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Moving Insider USA\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-07-17T11:37:06+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/8e97e215725f695f87595ba1277b1b85-scaled.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"2560\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1707\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/?p=7725#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/?p=7725\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/22d40ab81790f6a361021763bb56ef03\"},\"headline\":\"Luis Garc\u00eda Jr. is enjoying a career year a decade in the making\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-07-17T11:37:06+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/?p=7725\"},\"wordCount\":962,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/?p=7725#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/5ff3f0e03f9681afc41bcacf27df6259-scaled.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Interesting\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/?p=7725#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/?p=7725\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/?p=7725\",\"name\":\"Luis Garc\u00eda Jr. is enjoying a career year a decade in the making - 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