One of the surprising revelations just ahead of the MLB trade deadline on Thursday was the news that the Red Sox were in pursuit of slugging third baseman Eugenio Suarez, with the intention of moving him to first base. But it’s unclear how serious the Red Sox were in that pursuit, and ultimately, Suarez wound up with the Mariners for a pair of pitching prospects and Tyler Locklear, Seattle’s No. 9 prospect.
It’s likely the Red Sox could have sent the Diamondbacks a better prospect package if they’d truly wanted Suarez, who will be a free agent after the season. That package could well have started with Jhostynxon Garcia, the 22-year-old outfielder who is rated the team’s No. 2 prospect by MLB Pipeline.
Red Sox Have a Glut of Outfielders
Instead, Garcia could potentially help solve the Red Sox’s first-base problem in an entirely different way–by playing the position himself. Garcia is an outfielder, and just as Boston has a glut of outfielders at the big-league level, there is not much room for Garcia on the roster.
That, despite the fact that he has hit .288 this season in Double and Triple A, with 18 homers and 61 RBIs in 87 games. Of all the Red Sox’s many prospect, Garcia might have the best power potential.
But getting Garcia on the field would be difficult … unless he were to move to first base, where the Red Sox have a need for a right-handed platoon partner to go with Romy Gonzalez. According to the Worcester Telegram-Gazette’s Tommy Cassell (via NESN.com), Garcia has begun doing that work.
Jhostynxon Garcia Working at 1B
Cassell wrote on Twitter/X:
“Jhostynxon Garcia did introductory turf work on Sunday with the WooSox and then worked around the bag today with WooSox coaches to ramp up the possibility of ‘The Password’ playing 1B in the future. ‘We’re progressing towards that, for sure,’ said WooSox manager Chad Tracy.”
The key word there, though, is “future.” It would be a nice solution for the Red Sox if Garcia could move into the position in the coming weeks, but it is highly unlikely he’d be ready for that role.
Garcia is only 22, and has only played the outfield in his time in the field.
Red Sox Power Prospect
MLB Pipeline is higher on Garcia than many other sites–ESPN ranks him No. 3, FanGraphs No. 4 in the organization–but it is clear he has big-league ability.
The site’s scouting report reads: “Known as “The Password” because of his hard-to-spell first name, Garcia carries at least 50 pounds more than his listed weight of 163 and features some of the best strength and raw power in the system. His right-handed swing is designed to launch balls in the air, and he did so more often in 2024 while producing high-end exit velocities.
“He does damage against both lefties and righties and could produce 25-30 homers per season, though he may have to tone down his aggressive approach against more advanced pitching.”
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