García signed as an amateur free agent with the Pirates in 1987. He spent nearly three seasons at the Pirates' AAABuffalo farm team. García had his best season yet at Buffalo in 1992, batting .303, with 13 home runs and 70 runs batted in. Originally a shortstop the Pirates' trade of José Lind offered García an opportunity at second base, as Jay Bell was entrenched at shortstop. He enjoyed his best seasons in 1995 and 1996, batting .294 and .285.
García served as the first base and third base coaches for the Seattle Mariners from 2005 through 2007. He served as the first base coach and infield instructor for the Pittsburgh Pirates for the 2010 season.
Carlos was named the manager of the Bradenton Marauders, the Class High-A affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates, in December 2010. In 2013, he was promoted as manager of the Pirates' Double-A affiliate the Altoona Curve.[2] It was announced on Sep 23, 2014 that he would be fired from his position with the Altoona Curve.[3]
García was announced as the hitting coach for the Acereros de Monclova of the Mexican League for the Spring Tournament of the 2018 season. He was promoted to manager for the Fall Tournament of the 2018 season, but left the organization prematurely for personal reasons.