Blue Jays Have Massive Void To Fill In Bullpen With Yimi Garcia Lost for the Season
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The Toronto Blue Jays are heading into the stretch run of the season with a lot to figure out with their bullpen.
August was not a good month for the Blue Jays group of relief pitchers. Entering play on Aug. 29, the bullpen as a whole had a 4.50 ERA. They are struggling to consistently throw strikes, which has resulted in the highest walk rate in baseball at 14.9%. Looking to get ahead by any means necessary, it has led to a lot of home runs being surrendered with fastballs grooved down the middle of the plate.
Things aren’t going to get any easier for Toronto with the news that was revealed on Friday. One of their best relief pitchers, Yimi Garica, is not returning to the mound. He is set to undergo season-ending surgery on his elbow. Scar tissue is going to be removed that is pushing on a nerve, and the hope is that he will be ready for spring training in 2026, per manager John Schneider via Mitch Bannon of The Athletic (subscription required).
“We’ll see how (García’s) recovery goes,” Schneider said. “But hopefully it’s as normal of an offseason as he can have. But the plan is to be ready for spring.”
Blue Jays Need Pitchers To Step Up in Yimi Garcia's Absence
One of their high-leverage options when healthy, replacing him will not be an easy task. He was a key setup man ahead of Jeff Hoffman earlier in the year when the bullpen was clicking on all cylinders. Before going down with a shoulder injury, he had a 3.15 ERA with 24 strikeouts across 20 innings.
The last appearance made before the shoulder ailment was May 22. He returned on July 2, which ended up being his last outing of the year. An ankle injury was suffered when he slipped getting into a hot tub at Rogers Centre and during that rehab, elbow issues popped up again.
Without Garcia in the mix, other players are going to have to step up. Yariel Rodriguez and Brendon Little were called upon when he went down originally. Ahead of the MLB trade deadline, Seranthony Dominguez and Louis Varland were acquired from the Baltimore Orioles and Minnesota Twins to give Schneider more options at the end of games. Ryan Borucki was also signed after being released by the Pittsburgh Pirates.
A high-strikeout group, they have the makeup of a bullpen that can find success in October. More and more in recent years, it is the groups that can generate whiffs and swings-and-misses with regularity who find the most success. The Blue Jays have that, but losing Garcia is a massive blow to their operation.
