Maikel Jose García (born March 3, 2000) 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 ...

infielder An infielder is a baseball player stationed at one of four defensive "infield" positions on the baseball field, between first base and third base. Standard arrangement of positions In a game of baseball, two teams of nine players take turns pla ...

for the

Kansas City Royals The Kansas City Royals are an American professional baseball team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Royals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. The team ...

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). He made his MLB debut in 2022.

Career

García signed with the

as an international free agent on July 27, 2016. He made his professional debut with the Dominican Summer League Royals, hitting .223/.277/.242 with no home runs, 7 RBI, and 9 stolen bases. García split the 2018 season between the DSL Royals and the rookie-level

Arizona League Royals The Arizona Complex League Royals are a Rookie-level affiliate of the Kansas City Royals, competing in the Arizona Complex League of Minor League Baseball. The team plays its home games at Surprise Stadium in Surprise, Arizona. The team is compose ...

, hitting a cumulative .222/.311/.260 with no home runs, 11 RBI, and 20 stolen bases in 52 contests. In 2019, he spent time with the

Idaho Falls Chukars The Idaho Falls Chukars are an independent baseball team of the Pioneer League, which is not affiliated with Major League Baseball (MLB) but is an MLB Partner League. They are located in Idaho Falls, Idaho, and play their home games at Melaleu ...

and

Burlington Royals The Burlington Royals were a minor league baseball team in Burlington, North Carolina, United States. They were a Rookie-level team in the Appalachian League. The team was affiliated with the Cleveland Indians from 1986 to 2006 as the Burlington ...

, both rookie-level teams, and batted .284/.349/.367 with one home run, 35 RBI, and 19 stolen bases in 57 games. García did not play in a game in 2020 due to the cancellation of the minor league season because of the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

. García split the 2021 season between the Single-A

Columbia Fireflies The Columbia Fireflies are a Minor League Baseball team based in Columbia, South Carolina, and are the Single-A affiliate of the Kansas City Royals of Major League Baseball. Their home stadium is Segra Park. The team was previously known as the ...

and the High-A

Quad Cities River Bandits The Quad Cities River Bandits are a Minor League Baseball team of the Midwest League and the High-A affiliate of the Kansas City Royals. Their home games are played at Modern Woodmen Park (formerly John O'Donnell Stadium) in Davenport, Iowa, on ...

, slashing .291/.380/.405 with 4 home runs, 50 RBI, and 35 stolen bases. The Royals added him to their 40-man roster after the 2021 season. García was assigned to the Double-A

Northwest Arkansas Naturals The Northwest Arkansas Naturals are a Minor League Baseball team based in Springdale, Arkansas, Springdale, Arkansas. The team is a member of the Texas League, and serves as the Double-A (baseball), Double-A affiliate of the Kansas City Royals. T ...

to begin the 2022 season. On July 14, García was recalled and promoted to the major leagues for the first time. He made his MLB debut the next day against the

Toronto Blue Jays The Toronto Blue Jays are a Canadian professional baseball team based in Toronto. The Blue Jays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East Division. Since 1989, the team has p ...

, striking out in his lone plate appearance. On July 17, he was optioned back to Double-A. In an 11-5 loss against the

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Am ...

on July 30, García collected his first three career hits, the first of which coming off of Yankees starter

Gerrit Cole Gerrit Alan Cole (born September 8, 1990) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the New York Yankees of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the Pittsburgh Pirates and Houston Astros. Cole played for the bas ...

. García was optioned to the Triple-A

Omaha Storm Chasers The Omaha Storm Chasers are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Kansas City Royals. They are located in Papillion, Nebraska, a suburb southwest of Omaha, Nebraska, Omah ...

to begin the 2023 season. On May 2, 2023, García was recalled to Kansas City following the placement of infielder

Nicky Lopez Nicholas Lopez (born March 13, 1995) is an American professional baseball shortstop and second baseman in the Arizona Diamondbacks organization. He was drafted by the Kansas City Royals in the fifth round of the 2016 MLB draft, and made his MLB ...

on the 10-day injured list for

appendicitis Appendicitis is inflammation of the Appendix (anatomy), appendix. Symptoms commonly include right lower abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, fever and anorexia (symptom), decreased appetite. However, approximately 40% of people do not have these t ...

. Although his return to Kansas City wasn't intended to continue through the rest of the season, he slashed .267/.314/.333 in 35 plate appearances between May 2 and 8. On May 8, outfielder Franmil Reyes was designated for assignment, freeing a spot on the major league roster for García to stay. García finished the season with the Royals, where he went .272/.323/.358, with 126 hits, 4 home runs, 50 runs batted in, 38 walks, and 23 stolen bases. In 2024, García slashed .231/.281/.332 with seven home runs and 58 RBI in 575 at–bats. He had the lowest OPS in MLB, at .614. On December 5, 2024, García underwent surgery to remove a

bone spur An exostosis, also known as a osteochondroma, is a benign chondrogenic lesions derived from aberrant cartilage from the perichondral ring. Exostoses can cause chronic pain ranging from mild to moderate, but rarely severe, depending on the shape, s ...

from his right elbow.

Personal life

García’s cousins include Alcides Escobar, who played 13 years in MLB, and

Ronald Acuña Jr Ronald is a masculine given name derived from the Old Norse ''Rögnvaldr'', Hanks; Hardcastle; Hodges (2006) p. 234; Hanks; Hodges (2003) § Ronald. or possibly from Old English '' Regenweald''. In some cases ''Ronald'' is an Anglicised form of ...

. of the Atlanta Braves.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Garcia, Maikel 2000 births Living people Arizona League Royals players Burlington Royals players Columbia Fireflies players Dominican Summer League Royals players Idaho Falls Chukars players Kansas City Royals players Major League Baseball players from Venezuela 21st-century Venezuelan sportsmen Major League Baseball infielders Northwest Arkansas Naturals players Omaha Storm Chasers players Quad Cities River Bandits players Tiburones de La Guaira players Venezuelan expatriate baseball players in the Dominican Republic Venezuelan expatriate baseball players in the United States