Jhostynxon Garcia is getting another crack at sticking in the big leagues, and this time he’s doing it in a Pirates uniform.
The young outfielder, better known by the nickname “The Password,” was called up by Pittsburgh on Wednesday and immediately inserted into the lineup, batting eighth in the afternoon game. His first assignment came against a familiar face from the Red Sox orbit, with Eduardo Rodriguez starting on the mound for the Diamondbacks.
Garcia’s path back to MLB has been a stop-and-start one so far. He already logged 13 big-league games earlier this season, going 7-for-35 with a double. Last year, he got a brief look with Boston, appearing in five games and going 1-for-7.
Most of his work this season has come at Triple-A Indianapolis, where he’s played 58 games and put together a .270 average with a .762 OPS. He’s added 11 doubles and seven home runs there, numbers that help explain why Pittsburgh wanted another look.
Garcia’s move to the Pirates came in the offseason trade that sent pitcher Johan Oviedo to the Red Sox. Before that, he had been a Boston international signing in July of 2019 and climbed through the organization from there.
In Boston, his unusual name, memorable nickname and bat made him easy to root for as he moved up the system. Now he’s trying to carve out that same kind of place in Pittsburgh, with the Pirates hanging around the National League wild card race.
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