Joshua Rico Garcia (born January 10, 1994) is an American

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in baseball league, leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Mod ...

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw ...

for the

Washington Nationals The Washington Nationals are an American professional baseball team based in Washington, D.C.. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. From 2005 to 2007, the team played in RFK Stadiu ...

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

(MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the

Colorado Rockies The Colorado Rockies are an American professional baseball team based in Denver. The Rockies compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. The team plays its home baseball games at Coors Fie ...

San Francisco Giants The San Francisco Giants are an American professional baseball team based in San Francisco, California. The Giants compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1883 as the New Yor ...

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East division. As one of the American L ...

, and

Oakland Athletics The Oakland Athletics (often referred to as the A's) are an American professional baseball team based in Oakland, California. The Athletics compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. The te ...

. He played college baseball for

Hawaii Pacific University Hawaii Pacific University (HPU) is a private university in downtown Honolulu, Makapuʻu and Kāneʻohe, Hawaii. HPU is the largest private university in the central Pacific, most noted for its diverse student body of nearly 5,000 students, re ...

and was drafted by the Rockies in the 30th round of the

2016 MLB draft The 2016 Major League Baseball (MLB) First-Year Player Draft began on June 9, 2016, to assign amateur baseball players to MLB teams. The draft order is the reverse order of the 2015 MLB season standings. In addition, compensation picks will be d ...

, for whom he made his MLB debut in 2019.

Career

Amateur career

Garcia attended the

Saint Louis School Saint Louis School, located in the neighborhood of Kaimuki in Honolulu, Hawaii, is a historic Roman Catholic college preparatory school for boys. It was founded in 1846 to serve Catholics in the former Kingdom of Hawaii. Located within the Roman ...

Honolulu, Hawaii Honolulu (; ) is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, which is in the Pacific Ocean. It is an unincorporated county seat of the consolidated City and County of Honolulu, situated along the southeast coast of the island o ...

. He attended

and played

college baseball College baseball is baseball that is played on the intercollegiate level at institutions of higher education. In comparison to football and basketball, college competition in the United States plays a smaller role in developing professional pl ...

for the

Sharks Sharks are a group of elasmobranch fish characterized by a cartilaginous skeleton, five to seven gill slits on the sides of the head, and pectoral fins that are not fused to the head. Modern sharks are classified within the clade Selachimorp ...

, for whom he was 21–13 with a 3.10 ERA in 45 starts. He was drafted by the

in the 30th round (890th overall) of the

2016 Major League Baseball draft The 2016 Major League Baseball (MLB) First-Year Player Draft began on June 9, 2016, to assign amateur baseball players to MLB teams. The draft order is the reverse order of the 2015 MLB season standings. In addition, compensation picks will be d ...

Colorado Rockies

Garcia made his professional debut with the

Boise Hawks The Boise Hawks are an independent baseball team of the Pioneer League, which is not affiliated with Major League Baseball (MLB) but is an MLB Partner League. Home games are played at Memorial Stadium in Garden City, Idaho, a small city surround ...

, going 0–4 with a 6.37 ERA in innings. He played 2017 with Boise and the

Asheville Tourists The Asheville Tourists are a Minor League Baseball team of the South Atlantic League and the High-A affiliate of the Houston Astros. They are located in Asheville, North Carolina. Asheville teams have played under the Tourists moniker in differen ...

, posting a 2–6 record and 3.39 ERA in 16 games (12 starts). He split the 2018 season between the

Lancaster JetHawks The Lancaster JetHawks were a baseball team located in Lancaster, California. They were named for the city's association with the aerospace industry and played their home games at The Hangar. From 1996 to 2020, they were members of Minor League ...

and

Hartford Yard Goats The Hartford Yard Goats are a Minor League Baseball team based in Hartford, Connecticut. The Yard Goats, which play in the Eastern League, are the Double-A affiliate of the Colorado Rockies. The team was founded in 2016 when the New Britain R ...

, pitching to a 13–9 record and 2.96 ERA over 27 games (26 starts). Garcia was an MILB.com Organization All Star, and both a mid-season and post-season California League All Star. Garcia opened the 2019 season with Hartford before being promoted to the

Albuquerque Isotopes The Albuquerque Isotopes are a Minor League Baseball team of the Pacific Coast League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Colorado Rockies. They play home games at Rio Grande Credit Union Field at Isotopes Park in Albuquerque, New Mexico, at an el ...

on June 20. Combined between the two levels, in 2019 he went 10–6 with a 4.24 ERA over innings in 26 starts in which he struck out 138 batters. On August 27, 2019, the Rockies selected Garcia's contract and promoted him to the major leagues. He made his debut that night versus the

Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Founded in as one of the American League's eight ...

, allowing six runs in five innings pitched. He pitched a total of six innings for the Rockies in 2019.

San Francisco Giants

On November 5, 2019, Garcia was claimed off waivers by the

. He was non-tendered on December 2, 2019, and became a free agent. Garcia later re-signed with the Giants on a minor league deal in the offseason. In 2020, Garcia registered a 5.40 ERA with 7 strikeouts in 10 innings of work. On December 2, Garcia was nontendered by the Giants. On December 3, Garcia re-signed with the Giants on a minor league contract. On March 24, 2021, it was announced that Garcia would require

Tommy John surgery Ulnar collateral ligament reconstruction, colloquially known as Tommy John surgery (TJS), is a surgical graft procedure where the ulnar collateral ligament in the medial elbow is replaced with either a tendon from elsewhere in the patient's bo ...

and miss the 2021 season as a result. On March 27, Garcia underwent the procedure. On November 7, Garcia elected free agency.

Baltimore Orioles

On November 10, 2021, Garcia signed a minor league contract with the

organization. He was assigned to the Triple-A

Norfolk Tides The Norfolk Tides are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles. They are located in Norfolk, Virginia, and are named in nautical reference to the city's location on the Chesapea ...

to begin the year. On June 13, 2022, Garcia was selected to the 40-man roster to replace

Keegan Akin Keegan Lee Akin (born April 1, 1995) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Baltimore Orioles of Major League Baseball (MLB). He made his MLB debut in 2020. Amateur career Akin attended Bullock Creek High School in Midland, Michiga ...

, who could not travel to Toronto for a series against the Blue Jays due to his vaccination status. In two games, he allowed one run on three hits with a strikeout in three innings pitched. He was removed from the 40-man roster and returned to Triple-A on June 17. On July 10, Garcia was selected back to the major league roster. In 6 games for Baltimore, he registered a 4.50 ERA with 2 strikeouts in 8.0 innings of work. On September 11, Garcia was designated for assignment following the waiver claim of

Cam Gallagher Cameron Joseph Gallagher (born December 6, 1992) is an American professional baseball catcher for the Cleveland Guardians of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the Kansas City Royals. Professional career Kansas City ...

. On September 13, he cleared waivers and was sent outright to Triple–A Norfolk.

Oakland Athletics

On November 11, 2022, Garcia signed a minor league deal with the

. He began the 2023 season with the Triple-A

Las Vegas Aviators The Las Vegas Aviators, formerly known as the Las Vegas 51s and Las Vegas Stars, are a Minor League Baseball team of the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the Oakland Athletics. They are located in Summerlin South, Nevad ...

, making 9 appearances and logging a 2.03 ERA with 19 strikeouts and 2 saves in 13.1 innings pitched. On May 4, 2023, Garcia had his contract selected to the active roster. In 7 games for Oakland, he struggled to an 8.31 ERA with 6 strikeouts in innings pitched. On July 7, he was designated for assignment following the promotion of Cody Thomas. He cleared waivers and was sent outright to Triple–A on July 10. However, the next day, Garcia rejected the assignment in lieu of free agency.

Washington Nationals

On July 12, 2023, Garcia signed a minor league contract with the

organization. After two scoreless appearances for the Triple–A

Rochester Red Wings The Rochester Red Wings are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Washington Nationals. They are located in Rochester, New York, and play their home games at Innovative Field ...

, the Nationals selected Garcia to the major league roster on July 19.

References

External links

Hawaii Pacific Sharks bio
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Garcia, Rico 1994 births Living people American sportspeople of Puerto Rican descent Baseball players from Honolulu Major League Baseball pitchers Colorado Rockies players San Francisco Giants players Baltimore Orioles players Oakland Athletics players Washington Nationals players Hawaii Pacific Sharks baseball players Boise Hawks players Asheville Tourists players Lancaster JetHawks players Hartford Yard Goats players Albuquerque Isotopes players Norfolk Tides players Las Vegas Aviators players Rochester Red Wings players