FORT MYERS, Fla. — Red Sox prospect Jhostynxon Garcia, also known by his nickname “The Password,” said he had heard some rumors he might be added to Boston’s 40-man roster ahead of the deadline to protect Rule 5 Draft eligible players Nov. 19.
And so the 22-year-old outfielder wasn’t anxiously looking down at his cell phone, waiting for it to ring all day long.
“I wasn’t too nervous. I was actually sleeping when the call came in,” said Garcia through translator Daveson Perez. “So I was kind of just relaxed.”
The call woke him from his nap. Senior director of player development Brian Abraham delivered the good news that Boston added him to the 40-man roster.
His parents were the first people he called.
“They are the first people I call whenever I have any news to share,” Garcia said. “We all started crying.”
Garcia enjoyed a breakout season in 2024, receiving two promotions. He batted .286 with a .356 on-base percentage, .536 slugging percentage, .892 OPS, 23 homers, 24 doubles, five triples, 66 RBIs, 78 runs, 17 steals, 33 walks and 99 strikeouts in 107 games (459 plate appearances) combined between Low-A Salem, High-A Greenville and Double-A Portland.
Baseball America ranks him the No. 8 prospect in the Red Sox’ system. He wasn’t one of BA’s top 30 organizational prospects entering last year.
SoxProspects.com had Garcia unranked in its Top 60 entering 2024 spring training but jumped him to No. 49 entering the regular season after seeing in spring training the progress he had made during the 2023-24 offseason. The site now ranks him No. 12.
He was very far from the big league clubhouse last spring. Now he’s here.
“During the year, I was just focused on the season. I wasn’t really thinking about where I could be in a year,” he said. “But after the year and all the stats that I put up, I had a good feeling that I could possibly be here.”
Garcia has realistic goals heading into 2025 considering he finished 2024 in Double A where he appeared in just 30 games. He still needs to develop more and he is not fighting for an Opening Day roster spot.
“My goal is ultimately to have at least a couple games toward the end of the year in the big leagues,” Garcia said.
Garcia wants to improve at his pitch selection.
“Last year was a really good year but the one thing I had (some difficulty with) was laying off certain pitches,” Garcia said. “So that was something that I worked on this offseason.”
Manager Alex Cora described Garcia “as a big dude, adding, “He hits the ball hard to right-center. So he’s impressive.”
“The Password” nickname originated in October 2021 from the X account @InsideFastball, which tweeted last year, “Thought the use of consonants was unique & reminiscent of a password… Jhostynxon saw it and graciously adopted it as his own!”
For Cora, he simply calls the outfielder “Garcia.”
“Good swing,” Cora said. “He moves in the outfield, too. He’s a big dude but he moves.”
Garcia and his brother, Red Sox catching prospect Johanfran Garcia, stayed in Fort Myers to get in better shape during the 2023-24 offseason. Garcia said he added more muscle this offseason after finishing last year at 6-feet, 215 pounds.
“We were definitely hitting the weights a little more and added some more pounds, for sure,” he said.
Garcia’s size not only stands out. His long hair does, too. He has his own style with hair well past his shoulders. He has been growing it out for two or three years, he said.
“I just really like it,” Garcia said. “I’ve just been growing it and haven’t cut it since I’ve been growing it.”
Garcia’s brother Johanfran batted .385 (20-for-52) with a .467 on-base percentage, .596 slugging percentage, 1.063 OPS, two homers and five doubles in 14 games (60 plate appearances) at Salem to begin the 2024 season. But he suffered torn ligaments in his knee during a game May 1, then underwent season-ending surgery.
“He’s getting better,” Garcia said. “His knee’s getting better. He’s improving. So it’s good.”
Does his brother also have long hair?
“He’s not like me but he definitely has longer hair, just a little shorter,” Garcia said.
Garcia made 61 starts in center field, 28 starts in right field, two starts in left field and 16 at DH last year.
“Mainly on defense what I’m working on is getting those line drives that are coming right at you,” he said. “Just judging those better.”
Garcia is expected to begin this season back at Portland.
“They’re just more experienced,” he said about Double A pitching. “That’s the biggest thing. They know how to attack hitters. They come in with more of a game-plan. So that was the biggest difference.”
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