Maikel García
García with the Royals in 2025
Kansas City Royals – No. 11
Infielder
Born: (2000-03-03) March 3, 2000 (age 26)
La Sabana, Venezuela
Bats: Right
Throws: Right
MLB debut
July 15, 2022, for the Kansas City Royals
MLB statistics
(through 2025 season)
Batting average .263
Home runs 27
Runs batted in 184
Stolen bases 83
Stats at Baseball Reference Edit this at Wikidata
Teams
  • Kansas City Royals (2022–present)
Career highlights and awards
MLB
  • All-Star (2025)
  • Gold Glove Award (2025)
International
  • World Baseball Classic MVP (2026)
Medals
Men's baseball
Representing  Venezuela
World Baseball Classic
Gold medal – first place 2026 Miami Team

Maikel Jose García[a] (born March 3, 2000) is a Venezuelan professional baseball infielder for the Kansas City Royals of Major League Baseball (MLB). He made his MLB debut in 2022. In 2025, García was named to his first All-Star game and won his first Gold Glove Award.

Internationally, Garcia represents Venezuela. At the 2026 World Baseball Classic, he was named the tournament MVP and helped Venezuela win its first WBC championship in the country's history.

Professional career

García with the Omaha Storm Chasers in 2022

García signed with the Kansas City Royals as an international free agent at the age of 16 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, 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 and Burlington Royals, 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.[1]

García in 2023

García split the 2021 season between the Single-A Columbia Fireflies and the High-A Quad Cities River Bandits, 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.[2]

García was assigned to the Double-A Northwest Arkansas Naturals to begin the 2022 season.[3] As a result of several Royals players being temporarily placed on MLB's restricted list because of COVID-19 protocols in Canada in advance of a series with the Toronto Blue Jays, García was promoted to the major leagues for the first time on July 14. He made his MLB debut the next day, striking out in his lone plate appearance. On July 17, he was optioned back to Double-A.[4] In an 11-5 loss against the New York Yankees on July 30, García collected his first three career hits, the first of which was off of Yankees starter Gerrit Cole.[5]

García was optioned to the Triple-A Omaha Storm Chasers to begin the 2023 season.[6]

On May 2, 2023, García was recalled to Kansas City following the placement of infielder Nicky Lopez on the 10-day injured list for appendicitis.[7] Although his return to Kansas City was not 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.[8]

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.[9]

In 2024, García slashed .231/.281/.332 with seven home runs and 58 RBI in 575 at–bats.[10] He had the lowest OPS in MLB, at .614.[11] On December 5, 2024, García underwent surgery to remove a bone spur from his right elbow.[12]

On July 11, 2025, García was named a All-Star for the first time in his career, replacing Brandon Lowe on the game's active roster. In 2025, he slashed .286/.351/.449 with 16 home runs and 74 RBI in 595 at–bats. García won his first career Gold Glove Award for American League third basemen.[13]

On December 16, 2025, García and the Royals agreed to a five-year, $57.5 million contract extension.[14]

International career

Garcia represented Venezuela during the 2026 World Baseball Classic, where he helped the team win their first WBC championship and was subsequently named the World Baseball Classic MVP. He had 10 hits in the tournament, including a critical two-run home run in the quarterfinal upset win over tournament favorites Japan and an RBI in the championship game.[15][16][17]

Personal life

García's cousins include Alcides Escobar, who played 13 years in MLB,[18] and Ronald Acuña Jr. of the Atlanta Braves.[19]

Notes

  1. ^ Latin American Spanish pronunciation: [ˈmajkel xoˈse garˈsia].

References

  1. ^ "2020 Minor League Baseball season cancelled". mlb.com. Archived from the original on November 9, 2021. Retrieved January 14, 2023.
  2. ^ "MJ Melendez, Nick Pratto added to Royals' 40-man roster". MLB.com. Archived from the original on November 22, 2021. Retrieved November 22, 2021.
  3. ^ "Royals' Maikel Garcia: Optioned to Double-A". cbssports.com. Retrieved February 19, 2023.
  4. ^ "Royals' Maikel Garcia: Heads back to Double-A". cbssports.com. Retrieved February 19, 2023.
  5. ^ "Royals' Maikel Garcia: Collects first three MLB hits". cbssports.com. Archived from the original on February 19, 2023. Retrieved February 19, 2023.
  6. ^ "Royals' Maikel Garcia: Heads to Triple-A Omaha". cbssports.com. Archived from the original on March 23, 2023. Retrieved March 22, 2023.
  7. ^ "Royals put Nicky Lopez on IL, call up prospect Maikel Garcia". ESPN.com. May 2, 2023. Retrieved October 22, 2023.
  8. ^ Newell, Jesse. "Kansas City Royals add Philly pitcher in morning trade, designate Reyes for assignment". The Kansas City Star. Archived from the original on June 3, 2025. Retrieved October 22, 2023.
  9. ^ "Maikel Garcia Stats, Height, Weight, Position, Rookie Status & More". Baseball-Reference.com. Archived from the original on October 20, 2023. Retrieved October 22, 2023.
  10. ^ https://www.fangraphs.com/players/maikel-garcia/22715/stats?position=3B Archived October 8, 2024, at the Wayback Machine "Maikel Garcia,"] Fangraphs.
  11. ^ "2024 Major League Leaders," Archived June 3, 2025, at the Wayback Machine Fangraphs.
  12. ^ Franco, Anthony (December 5, 2024). "Maikel Garcia Undergoes Surgery To Remove Bone Spur From Elbow". MLB Trade Rumors. Archived from the original on August 14, 2025. Retrieved November 26, 2025.
  13. ^ Rogers, Anne (November 2, 2025). "Witt Jr., Garcia win Gold Gloves, a franchise first for infield duo". MLB. Archived from the original on November 3, 2025. Retrieved November 7, 2025.
  14. ^ Adams, Steve (December 16, 2025). "Royals Sign Maikel Garcia To Extension". MLB Trade Rumors. Archived from the original on December 24, 2025. Retrieved December 21, 2025.
  15. ^ Lacques, Gabe (March 17, 2026). "Who won WBC MVP? Maikel Garcia leads Venezuela to title". USA Today. Retrieved March 18, 2026.
  16. ^ Axisa, Mike (March 17, 2026). "Maikel Garcia named World Baseball Classic MVP for helping lead Venezuela to first ever title". CBS Sports. Retrieved March 18, 2026.
  17. ^ Castrovince, Anthony. "Venezuela wins 2026 World Baseball Classic". MLB. Retrieved March 18, 2026.
  18. ^ Perkins, Jared (June 30, 2022). "Six under-the-radar Royals prospects, Part 1: Maikel Garcia". Royals Farm Report. Archived from the original on June 30, 2022. Retrieved November 27, 2025.
  19. ^ Monagan, Matt (April 5, 2024). "Ronald Acuña Jr.'s whole family plays pro baseball". MLB.com. Archived from the original on July 15, 2025. Retrieved November 4, 2025.