Eric Wagaman Might Be the Next Kyle Garlick

[amjgt]

By May, Keaschall is going to be a RH hitting corner guy.

[Cody Schoenmann]

21 minutes ago, Bigfork Twins Guy said:

I'm all for a RH hitting corner guy to hit lefties, but I'd prefer that they are an every day player.

Buxton, Jeffers, Lewis, Keaschall, and (maybe) Martin all fit that mold. Not every position player in a 13-player group is going to hit same- and opposite-handed pitching well. That's why clubs have niche bench roles. I'm optimistic Wagaman could perform well in his. 

[Trov]

I personally hate using up a roster spot for a guy that will hopefully help like 50 to 75 at bats a season. 

[DJL44]

2 hours ago, amjgt said:

No, silly. Kody Clemens is the new Logan Morrison

Jonathan Schoop

[shimrod]

"Rooted in misogyny, the Manic Pixie Dream Girl archetype is harmful and destructive, creating the false narrative that straight men will always be the primary protagonists in stories and that women are nothing but supporting characters whose value resides in how different they are from other straight women. "

This is exactly backward. The false narrative is that women can be as batshit crazy (sure, call it eccentric) as they want to be and they will still be an object of matrimonial pursuit for normal guys. It's harmful and destructive only to people who expect reality to play out just like the standard rom-com. 

 

[adjacent]

6 hours ago, Brandon said:

I thought Kody Clemens was the new Kyle Garlick

 

Kody Clemens is the LEFTY Kyle Garlick. Like Garlic and onions, you know...

[bean5302]

17 hours ago, RpR said:

LOL,, Yeah , Rooker's -0.7 would have been so mjch better.👽

Garlick stuck around through 2023. Rooker posted up +1.7 fWAR over the same period as Garlick had with Minnesota.

[bean5302]

8 hours ago, IndyTwins said:

Brent Rooker is actually a great example of a “bottom of the barrel “ signing by the Athletics who finally clicked after struggling at the MLB level and getting released by the Twins, Royals, and Padres. 

Never got released, didn't really struggle at the MLB level.
2020 xwOBA .395 (elite) in a tiny 21 PA
2021 xwOBA .341 (All Star caliber) across 213 PA, .933 OPS in AAA
Traded by Twins to Padres
2022 7 PA with Padres, .990 OPS in AAA
Traded by Padres to Royals
2022 29 PA with Royals, 1.199 OPS in AAA
2022 xwOBA .264 (terrible) in a tiny 36 PA across 2 teams, raked in AAA
Royals DFA'd with the intent to sneak him through waivers based on timing of the move, but Oakland claimed him.

The rest is history. Rooker has been the same hitter in Oakland as he was in Minnesota in 2021 in terms of expected metrics.

[RpR]

2 hours ago, bean5302 said:

Garlick stuck around through 2023. Rooker posted up +1.7 fWAR over the same period as Garlick had with Minnesota.

LOL, in 2021 defense:

Rooker 

Garlick

In 2022 Rooker played a whole 14 games in the outfield, a very valuable player.  In the two they both played a whole season, 2021-2022 , Garlick played 102 games, Rooker played 74 games.   Rooker had a -1.1 WAR, Garlick had a 0.4 WAR.

Garlick was not a gapping hole in the outfield, Rooker was.

 

[DocBauer]

I wasn't a big fan of Garlick because he was horrendous against RHP and not much of an OF. But to be fair, he was initially a pretty good, powerful, and productive bat against LHP.

And maybe Wagaman can offer that as a platoon 1B with Clemens and a PH. My primary objection is ROSTER CONSTRUCTION. How many teams have a platoon at 1B? It shrinks the entire roster! I wouldn't have resigned Larnach, not because he's bad, but he doesn't FIT. Or at the very least I'd be everything I can to move him in a trade, or part of a package, for someone who might be useful. Preferably a pen arm with some potential. And I would have used Larnach's $4.5M for an unspectacular, but USEFUL player like Ramon Urias, a switch hitter with neutral splits, who is an OK bat, who ALSO plays 1B, in addition to 2B and 3B.

That's a USEFUL bench option who can fill in 3 different spots. Right now, if Lewis spends any appreciable time on the IL again...knock on wood for his healthiest year to date...who plays 3B?? You move Lee to 3B and have Kreidler play SS with one of the most anemic bats you could ever put in to a lineup? Someone like Urias could at least cover 3B for a while and not destroy the lineup.

I sort of "get" Wagaman as an inexpensive option, who might even surprise a bit, to work the margins. But again, how many teams actually platoon at 1B and shorten their bench like this will do?

I just don't like the way the player roster is being constructed. 

[David HK]

Who knows? He might become the Clete Thomas of Kyle Garlicks.  Hopefully not the Manuel Margot of Butch Huskeys.

[JADBP]

19 hours ago, dxpavelka said:

Your opinion and a quarter will get you a cup of coffee.  Not the good kind but the crappy kind you get for a quarter.

Yeahhhh....thanks for the kind words.  

Obviously, you don't get it...everyone here is opinionating.  Sorry to have offended!

[Woof Bronzer]

16 hours ago, JADBP said:

Yeahhhh....thanks for the kind words.  

Obviously, you don't get it...everyone here is opinionating.  Sorry to have offended!

If you thought an internet comment board was a place you could leave your opinion you came to the wrong place mister!

[Eris]

On 1/9/2026 at 10:56 AM, Brandon said:

I thought Kody Clemens was the new Kyle Garlick

 

I think this is unfair to Kody Clemens.  Clemens produced 1.4 fWAR last season with average to slightly above average defense.  Garlick's best season was 0.4 fWAR.  

As an added note, 6 Twins position players with at least 100 plate appearances had an fWAR below Garlick's best season.  So maybe Kyle Garlick is the appropriate benchmark as painful as that may be to think about.

Major League Leaderboards - 2025 - Batting | FanGraphs Baseball

 

[jkcarew]

Informative article. Until this, I had no idea I liked Kyle Garlick.

[Riverbrian]

On 1/9/2026 at 7:55 PM, DocBauer said:

I wasn't a big fan of Garlick because he was horrendous against RHP

In 2019 Chris Taylor was the primary short side dance partner for Joc Pederson in LF. 

The problem with Chris Taylor serving that specific role is that he couldn't serve a specific role. His ability to play every position requires him to play every position. He can't just hang around in left field waiting for Madison Bumgarner. 

On top of that the Dodgers in 2019 were left handed hitting heavy. 4 of their 5 top hitters were left handed. The entire starting OF was left handed. Pederson, Verdugo and Bellinger with OPS of .876, .817 and 1.035 respectively. 

Enter 27 year old Kyle Garlick who produced a 1,011 OPS against RHP over 262 plate appearances in Oklahoma City. When is he going to play on that team... with that outfield? 

The answer is against left handed pitching for Joc Pederson and a disposable short side platoon was born weather he deserves it or not. 

If Wagaman is taking this type of role. He no longer matters. There is no OPS large enough exclusively against lefties that will provide him a career of reasonable length. 

 

 

[PuckettProtector]

On 1/9/2026 at 8:44 AM, Cody Schoenmann said:

your mom did text me to let me know she read my article, yes.

Shouldn't you be watching your girlfriend's boyfriend's kid?

[Cody Schoenmann]

On 1/24/2026 at 12:29 PM, PuckettProtector said:

Shouldn't you be watching your girlfriend's boyfriend's kid?

i'm not the step dad, i'm the dad who stepped up

[ashbury]

On 1/12/2026 at 5:23 AM, Riverbrian said:

In 2019 Chris Taylor was the primary short side dance partner for Joc Pederson in LF. 

It happens sometimes.