Struggling sluggers Garcia, Soler working to break out of nagging hitting slumps
They were the Marlins’ big free agent acquisitions, worth a combined $89 million over the course of their contracts. They were two of the players the Marlins hoped would provide a needed boost to their lineup.
So far, the results have been minimal for Avisail Garcia and Jorge Soler.
Both were hitting below the Mendoza line entering Tuesday’s game against the Arizona Diamondbacks — Garcia with a .189 batting average and 31.3 percent strikeout rate, Soler hitting .174 with a 28.2 percent strikeout rate heading into the 30th game of the season.
“I’m not sure if there’s one way to get out of a slump or get out of that feeling,” Marlins manager Don Mattingly said. “Usually it takes some success. As much as anything, I think you’ve got to get out of your own way.”
How does one do that? Mattingly points to two approaches.
The first: Find a way, any way, to make a contribution for the team.
The second?
“Get to the ‘F It’ stage where I’m gonna hit some balls hard tonight,” Mattingly said. “I’m gonna square four balls up tonight. If I get hits or if I don’t get hits, I don’t care, but you get to that point in your mind where it’s like I’m gonna hit balls hard, period, and just make your mind up.”
Garcia and Soler have the ability to hit balls hard. They both rank in the 99th percentile of the league this season in maximum exit velocity and are both hovering around the middle of the league in hardhit rate, defined as the percentage of balls in play that have an exit velocity of at least 95 mph.
And while both have proven track records over their MLB careers, shaking off a slow start is a mental battle.
“It’s a battle with desperation,” Soler said. “You see some pitches that you know you can hit and have hit before. It’s something about trying to control that and then just continue with your routine.”
There have been some successes lately.
Garcia has hits in each of his past three starts and his expected batting average of .229 is 40 points higher than where his current batting average stands.
“It’s starting to fall,” Mattingly said. “That’s always a good sign when you’re getting some balls to fall and making left turns [around the base paths].
“It gets frustrating when you’re always turning back to the dugout.”
Soler had safely reached base in three of the past four games and on Saturday hit his first career grand slam.
The small, recent sample sizes aren’t a total judgment call on where they stand or if the momentum will carry but does have the potential to serve as a jumping-off point after a struggling first month.
“I feel like I’m getting back to my rhythm,” Soler said. “I’ve seen the ball a little better and am swinging a little better.”
A START FOR ERIK GONZALEZ
With left-handed pitcher Madison Bumgarner on the mound for the Diamondbacks on Tuesday and both Brian Anderson and Jon Berti still on the injured list for undisclosed reasons, Erik Gonzalez made his first start of the season for the Marlins.
The 30-year-old infielder, who has played 336 MLB games over six seasons with Cleveland (201618) and the Pittsburgh Pirates (2019-21), started at third base, while Joey Wendle moved to second
base and Jazz Chisholm Jr. was out of the lineup.
The Marlins signed Gonzalez to a minorleague deal on Nov. 28 and got an extended look at him during spring training. Gonzalez then got off to a torrid start with the Triple A Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp, hitting .392 with 13 RBI, eight doubles, four stolen bases and 12 runs scored in 24 games before Miami selected his contract on Sunday.