Adolis likely to return from 'pretty mild' oblique strain before Opening Day

SURPRISE, Ariz. -- The Rangers got good news on Adolis García on Wednesday.

Garc¨ªa¡¯s oblique strain is ¡°pretty mild¡± and ¡°not quite a Grade 1,¡± Rangers manager Bruce Bochy announced.

The club expects the All-Star outfielder to return to the field quicker than Wyatt Langford, who has also been delayed with an oblique injury this spring. If all continues going well, Garc¨ªa will be ready for Texas¡¯ Opening Day game against the Red Sox in Arlington on March 27.

Langford has resumed hitting and running the bases and is scheduled to make his Cactus League debut on Friday against the Rockies, though the club may delay him another day due to rainy weather in the forecast.

¡°That¡¯s the good news,¡± Bochy said of Garc¨ªa. ¡°I've not seen him today. I'm going to grab him after I'm done here. It¡¯s not quite to the degree Langford has. Langford was a Grade 1 and they felt [Garc¨ªa¡¯s] is between the 0 and the 1, I guess.¡±

Garc¨ªa was scratched from Tuesday¡¯s Cactus League matchup with the A¡¯s at Surprise Stadium. He got an MRI that morning, revealing the mild oblique strain.

A left oblique injury kept Garc¨ªa sidelined for the final two games of the 2023 World Series, but that is the only other time an oblique has affected him. Even so, with a little more than three weeks until Opening Day, Texas will likely remain cautious with the All-Star outfielder while trying to keep him healthy going into the regular season.

Garc¨ªa has spent all offseason and spring looking to find his swing again. The right fielder was a postseason hero in 2023, winning the ALCS MVP Award and contributing through the first three World Series games before the oblique injury caused him to miss the final two contests.

But he struggled to a career-low batting average (.224) and OPS (.684) in 2024.

He¡¯s gone 6-for-19 with two walks so far this spring as he works toward his goal of 50 home runs and 100 RBIs.