Joshua Rico Garcia (born January 10, 1994) is an American professional baseball pitcher in the Baltimore Orioles organization. He has previously played in MLB for the Colorado Rockies and San Francisco Giants. He played college baseball for Hawaii Pacific University. He was drafted by the Rockies in the 30th round of the 2016 Major League Baseball draft, and made his MLB debut with them in 2019.
| Rico Garcia | |
|---|---|
| Baltimore Orioles | |
| Pitcher | |
| Born: (1994-01-10) January 10, 1994 (age 28) Honolulu, Hawaii | |
Bats: Right Throws: Right | |
| MLB debut | |
| August 27, 2019, for the Colorado Rockies | |
| MLB statistics (through 2022 season) | |
| Win–loss record | 1–2 |
| Earned run average | 6.38 |
| Strikeouts | 11 |
| Teams | |
| |
Garcia attended the Saint Louis School in Honolulu, Hawaii.[1] He attended Hawaii Pacific University and played college baseball for the Sharks, for whom he was 21-13 with a 3.10 ERA in 45 starts.[2] He was drafted by the Colorado Rockies in the 30th round (890th overall) of the 2016 Major League Baseball draft.[3][4]
Garcia made his professional debut with the Boise Hawks, going 0–4 with a 6.37 ERA in 35+1⁄3 innings. He played 2017 with Boise and the Asheville Tourists, posting a 2–6 record and 3.39 ERA in 16 games (12 starts).
He split the 2018 season between the Lancaster JetHawks and Hartford Yard Goats, pitching to a 13–9 record and 2.96 ERA over 27 games (26 starts).[5] Garcia was an MILB.com Organization All Star, and both a mid-season and post-season California League All Star.[6]
Garcia opened the 2019 season with Hartford before being promoted to the Albuquerque Isotopes on June 20.[7][8] Combined between the two levels, in 2019 he went 10–6 with a 4.24 ERA over 129+1⁄3 innings in 26 starts in which he struck out 138 batters.[9]
On August 27, 2019, the Rockies selected Garcia's contract and promoted him to the major leagues.[10] He made his debut that night versus the Boston Red Sox, allowing six runs in five innings pitched.[11] He pitched a total of six innings for the Rockies in 2019.[9]
On November 5, 2019, Garcia was claimed off waivers by the San Francisco Giants.[12] He was non-tendered on December 2, 2019, and became a free agent.[13] Garcia later re-signed with the Giants on a minor league deal in the offseason.[14] In 2020, Garcia registered a 5.40 ERA with 7 strikeouts in 10 innings of work.[15] 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 and miss the 2021 season as a result.[16] On March 27, Garcia underwent the procedure. On November 7, Garcia elected free agency.
On November 10, 2021, Garcia signed a minor league contract with the Baltimore Orioles organization.[17] He had his contract selected on July 10, 2022. On September 11, Garcia was designated for assignment and was outrighted to Triple-A.