What Pirates' Jhostynxon Garcia's Spring Usage Says About His Role
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PITTSBURGH — The Pittsburgh Pirates are looking for who will serve as their outfield depth this season and Jhostynxon Garcia is one player that has a shot at earning a big role.
Garcia joined the Pirates in a trade with the Boston Red Sox back on Dec. 4, which saw right-handed starting pitcher Johan Oviedo go the other way. The Pirates also landed right-handed pitching prospect Jesus Travieso, while sending catcher Adonys Guzman and left-handed relief pitcher Tyler Samaniego to the Red Sox.
The recently turned 23-year old has little MLB experience, but the Pirates are giving Garcia opportunities in Spring Training to see how ready is for the next level.
Garcia has had a solid showing so far in the Grapefruit League, but he'll need to continue doing that to make the Pirates roster.
How the Pirates are Using Garcia in Spring Training
The Pirates have given Garcia three starts in Spring Training so far, in left field vs. the Tampa Bay Rays in the home opener at LECOM Park in Bradenton on Feb. 22 and against the St. Louis Cardinals at Roger Dean Chevrolet Stadium in Jupiter, Fla. on March 1, plus in right field vs. the Red Sox at JetBlue Park at Fenway South in Fort Myers, Fla. on Feb. 24.
Garcia is getting reps in both spots for a few reasons, but likely due to the lack of outfield depth the Pirates have.
He has spent most of his time in the minor leagues at center field, with less experience in right field and left field.
Position | Games (Starts) |
|---|---|
Left Field | 24 (22) |
Center Field | 218 (217) |
Right Field | 85 (83) |
Oneil Cruz is the Pirates center fielder and will play there most games, so Garcia getting a great deal of time there isn't quite likely.
Free agent signing Ryan O'Hearn should serve as the starting right fielder, which moves Bryan Reynolds back over to left field. The Pirates signing of Marcell Ozuna, who is solely a designated hitter, means O'Hearn will play the outfield much more than anticipated.
This does lessen the chances Garcia would've originally had before that signing, but it's not necessarily a bad thing for the prospect.
Pittsburgh also added Jake Mangum in a trade with the Tampa Bay Rays, giving them another player that can play all three outfield spots and provide depth.
Garcia, when he's on the Pirates roster, will get chances to play left field in place of Reynolds and right field in place of O'Hearn, especially if Kelly is moving those players around, such as when facing a left-handed batter.
Another good sign for Garcia is that he's hit quite well so far in Spring Training, .455 with five hits in 11 at-bats, while also scoring four runs and stealing three bases.
If he can keep up his production at the plate, he'll get more chances in the outfield this spring with the Pirates.
What the Pirates Have in García
Jhostynxon Garcia, whose first name is pronounced "JOES-tin-son", also holds the nickname, "The Password", due to the interesting nature of how his first name is spelled.
Garcia joined the Pirates as a top 100 prospect in baseball, with MLB Pipeline ranking him 85th overall, but recently fell off the list in a re-ranking for the 2026 season.
He still possesses great power and is coming off of 23 home runs in 2024 and 21 home runs this past season.
Garcia slashed .267/.340/.470 for an OPS of .810 in 114 games across Double-A Portland and Triple-A Worcester, but his best play came in the 88 games at Triple-A in 2025
He has a beautiful swing that sees him open up his body and crush balls in the zone, punishing pitchers for leaving balls for him to send out for a home run.
Garcia does tend to pull the ball for a right-handed batter, but this works well in PNC Park, which is deeper in right-center field than it is closer to the foul pole.
While there are great things about his game, Garcia does have a high strikeout rate, 24.0% in 2024 and increasing to 30.1% this past season, something Kelly mentioned as well.
This comes from him going for power, which obviously comes with its risks, strikeouts, and also rewards, home runs.
He also struggles with offspeed pitches, with a whiff rate of 43.75% on the changeup and 43.69% on the slider, but does do better with higher velocity pitches, like the fastball and sinker.
García is solid against both right-handed pitching and left-handed pitching. He slashed .268/.339/.461 for an OPS of .800 against righties and .246/.348/.509 for an OPS of .857 against lefties.
Dominic writes for Pittsburgh Pirates On SI, Pittsburgh Panthers Pn SI and also, Pittsburgh Steelers On SI. A Pittsburgh native, Dominic grew up watching Pittsburgh Sports and wrote for The Pitt News as an undergraduate at the University of Pittsburgh, covering Pitt Athletics. He would write for Pittsburgh Sports Now after college and has years of experience covering sports across Pittsburgh.