KANSAS CITY -- When Maikel Garcia was not in the Royals¡¯ starting lineup for Opening Day on Thursday, manager Matt Quatraro ushered some reassurance: ¡°Maikel¡¯s going to play a ton.¡±
The Royals still have plenty of faith in their 25-year-old infielder, even if he does move around the field more than he did in 2024 -- and even if he does hit more at the bottom of the lineup than last year.
He can still be a catalyst from down there anyway.
Just look at the seventh inning on Saturday.
With the Royals down a run and very little offense to speak of entering the bottom of the seventh, Garcia quieted all the worry while igniting all the energy at Kauffman Stadium with a game-tying, 405-foot solo home run off Guardians reliever Paul Sewald.
A Royals¡¯ rally followed: Cavan Biggio¡¯s single, pinch-runner Dairon Blanco¡¯s second stolen base in as many days, and Bobby Witt Jr.'s go-ahead RBI double gave the Royals an eventual 4-3 win over the Guardians for Kansas City¡¯s first win of the 2025 season.
¡°We needed that, in that moment.¡± leadoff hitter Jonathan India said following his two-hit game and first career start in left field. ¡°It felt like the game was just staying in that spot, and we needed that really badly. And he came through for us. Mikey¡¯s a hell of a player.¡±
The Royals did need the spark. The offense had no answer for Guardians starter Gavin Williams on Saturday, with the righty throwing just 31 pitches through three innings and 74 total through his five-plus innings on the day. Despite India¡¯s leadoff single, the Royals still went nine up, nine down the first time through the order.
It wasn¡¯t until India¡¯s second hit of the day -- on an 11-pitch at-bat -- in the fourth inning that he was able to come around to score on Salvador Perez¡¯s first of two RBI singles Saturday. After Royals starter Seth Lugo allowed three runs in five innings, reliever Daniel Lynch IV¡¯s two perfect innings allowed the Royals to build their comeback.
When Sewald entered for the seventh, though, talk of how tough the righty is to face made its way through the Royals¡¯ dugout and bullpen.
¡°We were just talking about Sewald and how he has that upshooting arm angle,¡± Royals closer Carlos Est¨¦vez said, moments after notching his first save as a Royal. ¡°Maikel didn¡¯t care.¡±
Garcia fouled off an up-and-in fastball before taking a sweeper below the zone. Sewald went to his sweeper again, but left it up and inside; Garcia turned on it and sent it doinking off the left-field foul pole.
For the 4.4 seconds it took the ball to sail, Garcia turned and watched it go. When it doinked, he turned toward the Royals' dugout and flipped his bat emphatically.
¡°I was just fired up,¡± Garcia said. ¡°Late in the game, homer, tie the game. Game two of the season. All the emotion and everything.¡±
Even better that Garcia¡¯s homer came at the bottom of the lineup, because the Royals were right where they wanted to be when the order flipped over and Witt came to the plate with a chance to do what he did all of last season -- come through in a big moment.
India¡¯s addition gives the Royals a reliable leadoff hitter, but that means they can have Garcia hit at the bottom of the lineup, which deepens it by getting on base and using his speed.
¡°You need to have production up and down,¡± Quatraro said. ¡°¡ We can¡¯t rely on one or two guys.¡±
Of course, that will require Garcia to improve from the .613 OPS he posted in 2024, but with the addition of India, the Royals don¡¯t have to play Garcia every single day, potentially keeping him fresher and putting him in better opportunities to succeed.
Garcia acknowledges that this new role, which will include moving around the field more as a utility player, will be a challenge.
¡°It¡¯s not easy,¡± Garcia said. ¡°But we have to make adjustments as players. I want to be able to be in the lineup every day. But if they can¡¯t put me in the lineup every day, I¡¯ll be ready for late in the game.¡±
And if Garcia does what he did Saturday, he¡¯ll be playing every day.
¡°Maikel¡¯s growing up right before our eyes,¡± Quatraro said. ¡°He¡¯s been up here as a really young player the last two years. ¡ Now if it¡¯s not 650 plate appearances, it¡¯s still going to be meaningful. He¡¯s not going to play once a week. He¡¯s going to play five or six times a week every week. Hopefully he plays himself into playing every day the rest of his career.¡±