Luis García Jr. is 26 years old now. If you’re a Nationals fan of a certain age, that probably makes you feel some kind of way, especially if you’re also the type of fan who buys emotional stock in teenaged prospects.
García was 15 when the Nats signed him out of the Dominican Republic in 2016. He made his first big league camp in ’19, which was the same year the team won the World Series (which, in other words, was forever ago). In 2020, he became the first player born in the 2000s to homer in the majors. Earlier that year, I wrote that, in Dave Martinez’s wildest daydreams, he imagined an infield of García at second, Trea Turner at shortstop and Carter Kieboom at third.
And then … well …