Jhostynxon Garcia, last year’s Boston Red Sox No. 6 overall prospect known as “The Password” in honor of his difficult-to-spell given name, got bad news from his new team on Saturday. Though he put up exceptional statistics in spring training, the Pittsburgh Pirates made the decision to option the 23-year-old outfielder to the minor leagues anyway.
Garcia will now start the season with the Indianapolis Indians, the Pirates’ Triple-A affiliate. The decision had to come as a surprise to Garcia, who was traded from the Red Sox in December as part of a package that sent right-handed starting pitcher Johan Oviedo to Boston. In Boston, Garcia was mostly blocked from a spot on the big league roster by an overstuffed and talented outfield, including MLB’s former No. 1 prospect Roman Anthony, 2024 All-Star Game MVP Jarren Duran, two-time Gold Glover Wilyer Abreu and first-time Gold Glove-winning center fielder Ceddanne Rafaela.
The trade to Pittsburgh was supposed to be Garcia’s ticket to a major league roster, but after the decision by the Pirates brass, he will have to wait at least somewhat longer. The decision was also a surprise because Garcia proved all he could to the Pirates during spring training.
In 17 Grapefruit League games, “The Password” posted an eye-opening 1.058 OPS with a pair of home runs and a double among his 15 hits in 37 at-bats, with a .463 on-base percentage.
Garcia Signed With Red Sox in 2019
Garcia was an unlikely prospect in the 2019 international amateur free agent class, receiving no offers from MLB teams until just before the start of the international signing period. By that time, most top international prospects have signed non-binding pre-agreements with clubs, specifying how much they will receive in signing bonus money, but as the Venezuelan prospect told Boston.com, he heard nothing until the Red Sox approached him at the last minute.
Ultimately, Boston signed the then-16-year-old outfielder with a $350,000 bonus. Seven years later, Garcia is the only member of that Red Sox international signing group to have reached the major league level.
Garcia — whose first name is pronounced “JOES-tin-son” — was briefly called up to the majors on Aug. 21 when fellow Venezuelan outfielder Wilyer Abreu went on the 10-day injured list with a right calf strain.
Faced Yankees in First MLB Start
Unfortunately for Garcia, he was thrown directly into the heat of the storied Red Sox rivalry with the New York Yankees, facing Yankees left-handed ace Max Fried in his first three big league plate appearances. Garcia managed to draw a walk from Fried, sandwiched between two strikeouts. The rookie then struck out a third time, facing New York reliever Devin Williams.
In just five games for the Red Sox, Garcia came to the plate nine times, recording his first and only hit on Aug. 28, a double off Baltimore Orioles starter Cade Povich.
Garcia was returned to the Triple-A Worcester Red Sox the following day and, after the season, as the Red Sox looked to strengthen their starting rotation, was dealt to Pittsburgh along with right-handed pitcher Jesus Travieso for Oviedo and two Pirates prospects, left-handed pitcher Tyler Samaniego and catcher Adonys Guzman.
MLB Pipeline now ranks Garcia as the No. 6 prospect in the Pirates system.
Ex-Red Sox Top-10 Prospect Suddenly Gets Bad News After Breakout Spring