9:52am: While García is expected to be promoted, Hiles adds in a subsequent report, the Pirates were considering one more player. The decision was not yet finalized.
8:55am: The Pirates are expected to bring back an outfielder Jhostynxon García from Triple-A Indianapolis, reports Noah Hiles of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. The Bucs are out today, so the move won’t be official until tomorrow’s road trip with the division-rival Cardinals in St. Louis. The Pirates have already selected an infielder/outfielder Nick Yorke to Indianapolis following yesterday’s game.
García, 23, was acquired from the Red Sox in an offseason trade Johan Oviedo to Boston. “Password” ranked among the top 100 prospects during the 2025 season but dropped slightly; is still a highly regarded outfielder who has bounced back from a rough start to his 2026 season to catch fire.
Despite an eye-catching appearance for the Pirates where he hit .405/.463/.595 in 41 plate appearances, García opened the season in the minors. The Pirates had it Oneil Cruz, Bryan Reynolds again Ryan O’Hearn confined to the outlying areas as well Marcell Ozuna in the selected area. It’s understandable that the Bucs wanted García to get reps every day rather than spend a lot of time sitting on the bench when he’s in his prime. The situation is a bit different now, as O’Hearn hit the injured list over the weekend and Ozuna has struggled to hit 39 games to start his season (.182/.271/.311).
García himself opened the season going 1-for-27 in his first 29 trips to the batter’s box. He came up with a three-hit game on April 5 and hit safely in six of seven games before going on the minor league injured list with a back injury. García rehabbed the Pirates’ Class-A club for a few days in early May, then went 5-for-5, a three-homer blast in his return to the Triple-A lineup last month. Overall, since that three-hit game in early April, he’s slashed .324/.365/.632. Only 68 plate appearances — a handful in A ball — but it’s clear that García has bounced back from that early season slump.
For Pirates, the opposite is true. Pittsburgh was swept by its intrastate rivals over the weekend, dropping three straight to Philadelphia by scores of 11-9, 6-0 and 6-0. The Pirates went 16-11 on April 25 and have gone 8-12 since then. They’re still a game over .500, at 24-23, but they’re five games back of the Cubs for the NL Central lead and 3.5 games out of the NL Wild Card hunt.
García should jump into the mix and get at-bats every day, probably in the right spot instead of O’Hearn. Jake Mangum floats between all three off-field positions as needed. If García hits well when O’Hearn is ready to return from the injured list, that could put pressure on Ozuna — at least as long as the rest of the roster is healthy. Reynolds, Cruz and O’Hearn were key pieces to a Pirates lineup that ranked sixth in the majors in runs scored (229), sixth in batting average (.248), fourth in on-base percentage (.332) and tied for 13th in slugging percentage (.388). They will not be fired. O’Hearn can also play first base, though Spencer Horwitz he’s hitting .273/.383/.414, so he’s not going anywhere either.
García made his major league debut with the Red Sox last year, but only got nine plate appearances and accumulated just nine days of big league action. There isn’t enough time left on the calendar for him to reach a full year of service in 2026, so he’ll be manageable until 2032 in Pittsburgh. Future optional assignments can change that trajectory, of course. He is in his second major league option year and will have one left after the current season.
