WINNIPEG, MB – The Winnipeg Goldeyes re-signed catcher Kevin Garcia on Thursday.

Garcia hit .273 with one home run and 18 RBI in 40 games for the Goldeyes last season.  The El Centro, California native scored 17 runs, hit nine doubles, and walked nearly as many times (13) as he struck out (15).  Garcia finished with a .344 on-base percentage, while batting .387 in 31 at bats with runners in scoring position.  Defensively, the 26-year-old Garcia led all American Association catchers in caught stealing rate at 50 percent (18-for-36).  Garcia hit safely in 26 of 40 contests before his season was cut short due to injury on June 30th.

“I’m thrilled Kevin is healing well enough to continue his career,” said Goldeyes’ manager Rick Forney.  “Kevin was having a great season behind the plate for us throwing out runners at an incredible clip.  I know he’s working extremely hard to prepare for the season, and I expect him to pick up where he left off last year.”

Garcia enters his sixth year of professional baseball, and is a career .254 hitter with three home runs and 72 RBI in 225 games played.  A switch-hitter and right-handed fielder, Garcia has thrown out 32 percent of opposing base stealers in his career, and has finished at 29 percent or higher in four of his first five pro seasons.  The 5-foot-9, 190-pound Garcia was drafted by the Toronto Blue Jays in the 30th round in 2014 out of Loyola Marymount University (Los Angeles, California), and reached the Double-A level in 2017 with the Minnesota Twins.  Garcia has struck out in just 13 percent of his 829 career plate appearances (the 2018 American Association average was 19 percent).

The Goldeyes now have 18 players under contract for the 2019 season.  American Association clubs may carry up to 28 players during spring training, which begins May 4th.

2019 Winnipeg Goldeyes Signings

CF Reggie Abercrombie
RHP Mitchell Aker
RHP Brandon Bingel
RHP Victor Capellan
RHP Jack Charleston
C Kevin Garcia
RHP Tyler Garkow
OF James Harris
LHP Jose Jose
IF Kevin Lachance
LHP Mitchell Lambson
SS Adrian Marin
LHP Kevin McGovern
1B Correlle Prime
RHP Devin Raftery
OF Josh Romanski
RHP Dylan Thompson
C Louis Touron

Notes: Garcia is a lifetime .255 hitter as a left-handed batter (561 AB) and a .253 hitter from the right side (174 AB)…Garcia has a .278 average in 198 career at bats with runners in scoring position…Garcia set a career-high with an eight-game hitting streak last season from May 18^th-26^th…in addition to leading the American Association in caught stealing percentage, Garcia finished tied for sixth in total runners caught stealing (18) in just 39 games played at the position…the five catchers that ranked ahead in total runners caught stealing averaged 61 games at the position

The Winnipeg Goldeyes open the 2019 season on May 16th against the Texas AirHogs on the road.  The Goldeyes’ 2019 home opener is scheduled for Friday, May 24th versus the Kansas City T-Bones.  2019 season tickets, 10-game mini packs, and group tickets are on sale now.  For more information, call the Goldeyes’ office at (204) 982-BASE, or visit the Goldeyes’ official website at www.goldeyes.com.

by Steve Schuster