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Patrick Glancy's avatar

Completely opposite of what I was saying in your article about India (and Massey), I believe Garcia's value is directly linked to his versatility. He might end up as the primary 3B again, out of necessity, but I don't think he'll ever have enough pop to be a true everyday 3B. Not ideally anyway. But if he can continue to improve at the plate, run the bases well, and provide outstanding defense at 3B, SS, 2B, and maybe even the OF (especially CF, though I think that's a tough ask- I'm not saying he can't do it, but it feels like a lot of fans assume he can step right in with no problems at all, and that's not usually how it works), he can be an extremely valuable player on this team for years to come.

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Royals Data Dugout's avatar

Yeah, completely agree with everything here. His value is tied up almost completely in the secondary skills (speed and defense) barring some improvement at the plate. He's already a 1-2 win player, and while competently playing multiple positions doesn't show up in fWAR, it makes him super valuable to the team. Particularly this year's version of the Royals that needs to shift guys around to open up DH for Vinnie/Sal and hopefully Cags.

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Murray Sacks's avatar

After yesterday’s incident, he seems considerably more important.

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Royals Data Dugout's avatar

Haha, no kidding... How about the timing on this one? I did word Garcia playing some shortstop as "if Witt needs a breather" and not "if Witt gets injured," so you can't blame me!

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