Pirates Manager Addresses Addition of Jhostynxon García

Kelly took on the role of manager after the Pirates dismissed manager Derek Shelton following a 12-26 and led the Pirates to a 59-65 record, finishing 71-91, which was still last in the National League Central Division and the fifth worst record in baseball.

The Pirates front office has given Kelly some reinforcements with the likes of second baseman Brandon Lowe in a trade with the Tampa Bay Rays and the signing of free agent Ryan O'Hearn, who will provide more power in 2026.

He also gets a new potential bat in García, who has shown power in the minors and could play with the Pirates next season with an early good showing, which is something Kelly hopes to see from the 23-year old.

“Some big-time power that he brings and just the ability to play all three outfield positions,” manager Don Kelly said to Alex Stumpf of MLB.com at the Winter Meetings. “Looks like he's an above-average outfielder. … All the reports we've gotten back and the video we've gotten to watch, we're really excited to add a young project of his caliber to this team.”

What the Pirates Get in Jhostynxon García

Jhostynxon García, 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 spelt.

He possesses great power and is coming off of 23 home runs in 2024 and 21 home runs this past season.

García 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.

García 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.

He 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.

García also can play all three outfield positions, but features mostly in center field, then at right field and a little bit in left field. This gives the Pirates options on where to put him, but also could serve as a backup for Oneil Cruz, putting him at designated hitter at times too.

While there are great things about his game, García does have a high strikeout rate, 24.0% in 2024 and increasing to 30.1% this past season.

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.

Where He Projects for the Pirates in 2026

The Pirates are giving García a shot to make the team out of Spring Training, but won't rush him and will allow him to develop at Triple-A Indianapolis if needed, according to Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic.

García did make his MLB debut with the Red Sox last season, but only played in five games and went 1-for-7 from the plate.

He is coming off a strong season in Triple-A, that saw him make the Futures Game, featuring the best prospects in baseball.

Pittsburgh could use a left fielder next season and also acquired Jake Mangum in the trade with the Rays.

García and Mangum likely fit into the plans at left field for the Pirates next season, so there's a chance he'll get some playing time, depending on his performances in Spring Training and then likely at Triple-A Indianapolis.