Red Sox Phenom Has Unexpected Path To Boston: Report

As the Boston Red Sox approached the trade deadline, one of the guys who was talked about the most as someone who could end up leaving the organization is No. 2 prospect Jhostynxon Garcia.

The reason for this is that Garcia is the team’s No. 2 prospect and has been phenomenal this season. But, the Red Sox already have a logjam in the outfield and it’s unclear how they could add another guy at the big league level.

Right now, the Red Sox have Roman Anthony, Jarren Duran, Wilyer Abreu, Rob Refsnyder, Masataka Yoshida, and Ceddanne Rafaela all on the big league roster. The Red Sox were rumored to make a trade ahead of the trade deadline, but didn't deal anyone away.

Garcia has been great, but there doesn’t seem to be a pathway to the Boston outfield right now. So far this season, he has played in 85 games overall and has slashed .283/.361/.497 with 16 homers and 58 RBIs. He's actually been better in Triple-A than he was in Double-A. With Worcester, Garcia has slashed .298/.365/.556 with 13 homers and 41 RBIs in 52 games.

He doesn't have a path to the big league outfield right now, but The Athletic's Jen McCaffrey reported that he will get some looks at first base down in the minors.

"One thing that may have gotten lost in the shuffle. Reported earlier this week the Red Sox are planning to have OF Jhostynxon Garcia get some reps at first base in Triple A soon with a crowded big league OF that may be his path to the majors," McCaffrey said.

Now, this is interesting. The Red Sox opted to keep Garcia. If he's sticking around, it certainly would make sense to find a way to get his bat in the lineup.