After signing a one-year, $10 million contract in the offseason, Adolis García was supposed to bring power and defense to the Philadelphia Phillies. Instead, he has struggled to a rough .195 batting average. And now, a sudden injury has made things more complicated.

García hurt his right shoulder during Wednesday’s 7-4 win against the Toronto Blue Jays. The outfielder hurt himself in the seventh inning while making a fast throw to home plate. He was evidently in pain and had to leave the game immediately. Now, interim manager Don Mattingly faces a tough choice as the team waits to see how bad the injury is.

“We’ll see what happens. I’ll probably get some imaging tomorrow. We’ll find out where, you know, the true severity of it,” noted Phillies manager Don Mattingly after the game.

The injury happened quickly.

García caught a fly ball in right field and threw the ball to home to get George Springer. Springer scored anyway, and García was left holding his right shoulder. A shoulder injury is a major scare for an outfielder.

They need healthy shoulders to make hard, fast throws across the diamond to keep runners from moving up. Even a small strain can completely ruin an outfielder’s arm strength and defense.

Phillies’ trainers came out quickly and didn’t want to take any risk, so they removed García from the game.

Steward Berroa then replaced García in the outfield.

Mattingly mentioned that he “hopes for the best” because we have seen how a shoulder injury can ruin a season for a player.

In 2020, Cody Bellinger hit a huge home run in Game 7 of the playoffs against the Atlanta Braves.

While celebrating the hit, he dislocated his right shoulder. Bellinger played through the pain and helped the Los Angeles Dodgers win the World Series. But then, he needed offseason surgery to fix torn ligaments. That surgery changed his swing and ruined his hitting.

From 2021 to 2024, he struggled to find his old MVP power. During those four years, he batted just .244 and hit only 73 home runs.

But Bellinger had age on his side; García doesn’t.

He is 33, so it will take longer to heal. Plus, he is already struggling offensively, with only seven homers and 21 RBIs. García’s performance has been dropping over the last two years.

He hit 25 homers in 2024, and that number dropped to 19 in 2025. And with multiple injuries over the past few seasons, an oblique injury and a knee injury, his fitness was already starting to raise questions. Now, with another injury creating uncertainty, a season that was already testing him has become even more difficult.

This will also test the Phillies’ defense.

The Phillies are going to miss García defensively

The Phillies were hoping that Adolis García would improve his offense, but were still managing without his bat. But without his glove, it might be a bit more of a problem. He already has four outfield assists this year, and without him, the Phillies’ defense looks weaker.

When asked about the defensive impact this is going to have on the team, Phillies interim manager Don Mattingly explained, “Well, obviously, you lose a defender like that. It changes things a little bit.”

The team does not have good backup players right now.

They could use Steward Berroa and Edmundo Sosa. Berroa could get on the team, but the problem is that he is a left fielder. And fitting him into the team means moving Brandon Marsh to the right. That might disrupt the defense.

They could also use Sosa, but his offense has been a big question mark.

In the 37 games he has played this season, Sosa has an average of .202 with just three homers. And his OPS is also very low at .569. That is why he is considered the fifth outfield option on the team.

They could also look into names in the minors like Otto Kemp or Felix Reyes, but none of them have been close to García in numbers.

They can’t call upon Johan Rojas either. MLB suspended him for 80 games for using PEDs. Plus, while preparing for his comeback, he tore a ligament in his right elbow and now requires surgery, which effectively ends his season.

All these together have raised major questions about the roster construction and how the Phillies will handle a tough stretch.