Red Sox Top Prospect To Have Season-Ending Surgery After Scorching Start

Boston will miss the teenage phenom

Scott Neville | May 9, 2024

Apr 18, 2022; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; An American Flag is displayed over the Green Monster / Brian Fluharty-USA TODAY Sports

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Boston Red Sox

The Boston Red Sox have been littered with injuries at the big-league level, testing their minor-league depth right out of the gate.

Thus far, manager Alex Cora has been able to steady the ship with a 19-18 record, good for third place in the American League East.

Unfortunately, the injury bug is starting to work its way down the farm system and recently bit one of the organization's brightest young stars.

"Johanfran Garcia, a power-hitting 19-year-old catcher who was off to a spectacular start with Single-A Salem, was carted off the field last week with a right knee injury incurred when he came to a quick stop while running the bases," The Boston Globe's Alex Speier reported Thursday.

"An MRI revealed what farm director Brian Abraham deemed a 'significant' knee injury that will require surgery and prevent Garcia from playing again this season."

Garcia was off to an insane start, hitting .385 with seven extra-base hits including a pair of home runs, five RBIs and a 1.063 OPS in 14 games for the Salem Red Sox.

The teenage phenom hit .274 with 21 extra-base hits including six home runs, 37 RBIs and a .814 OPS in 57 games between the Florida Complex League and Salem last season -- his first as a pro.

Garcia was ranked as the No. 13 Red Sox prospect according to Baseball America and would have had a chance to vault himself into the elite prospect conversation with a strong 2024 campaign. He's in line to potentially lead a new wave of young talent right as Marcelo Mayer, Roman Anthony and Kyle Teel graduate out of their prospect status at some point in 2025.

Until then, Garcia will heal, rehab and focus on getting back onto the field for what could become a breakout campaign in 2025.

More MLB: Yankees' Outfielder Admits He 'Butted Heads' With Red Sox's Alex Cora Last Season

Published May 9, 2024

SCOTT NEVILLE

Scott Neville covers the Boston Red Sox for Sports Illustrated's new page "Inside The Red Sox." Before starting "Inside The Red Sox", Neville attended Merrimack College, where he earned his Bachelor’s Degree in Communication and Media with a minor in Marketing. Neville spent all four years with Merrimack's radio station WMCK, where he grew as a radio/podcast host and producer. His propensity for being in front of a microphone eventually expanded to film, where he produced multiple short films alongside his then-roommate and current co-worker Stephen Mottram. On a journey that began as a way to receive easy credits via film classes, he received a call from "It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia" star Charlie Day. Day advised him to make a feature-length film, which he completed his senior year. While writing the film, Neville completed an internship for United Way as part of their NFL Partnership Program. Neville ran the blog for a team of interns and hosted an internet show called "United Way's NFL Partnership Series" where he interviewed NFL alumni. After college Neville wrote for SB Nation's "Over The Monster," a Red Sox sister site of the flagship brand. His work would eventually lead him to a job as a content producer with NESN, where he would cover all sports. After developing as a writer with the top regional network in the world, he was given the opportunity to join the Sports Illustrated Media Group in his current endeavor as the publisher of "Inside The Red Sox." The successful launch and quick rise of "Inside The Red Sox" led to Neville joining the Baseball Essential ownership group, a national baseball site under SIMG. Follow him on Twitter: @ScottNeville46 Email: nevilles@merrimack.edu