Blue Jays Yimi Garcia, Alejandro Kirk Both Shine in First Rehab Game
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To say the Toronto Blue Jays are quite lacking in depth, well, everywhere would be quite the understatement.
From Opening Day on, the team's injured list has not been in short supply of any position, but with many scheduled rehab assignments going on, they are inching closer than ever to being somewhat healthy.
Right now, Triple-A Buffalo has more starting pitchers in their rotation than the Blue Jays have, as Dylan Cease, Max Scherzer, and Shane Bieber will all throw for the Bison soon. Single-A Dunedin welcomed with open arms key reliever Yimi García and Alejandro Kirk on Wednesday.
Both couldn't have hoped for a better step towards their inevitable return as Kirk went 1-for-2 while also drawing a walk as the team's designated hitter. His one hit? A moonshot.
WELCOME BACK, ALEJANDRO KIRK💣
— Dunedin Blue Jays (@DunedinBlueJays) June 3, 2026
The @BlueJays rehabbing backstop leaves the yard in his first game for Dunedin! pic.twitter.com/S1eq0Nai8U
Later in the game, Garcia took over on the hill, knowing that he was going to get one inning, and see how he felt afterwards, then go from there. Well, he threw a hitless seventh inning to complement a strikeout.
Neither of these two has been able to impact the Blue Jays' season, but instead have been seemingly trying to get healthy, and this is coming at just the right time. Having another arm in the bullpen, and the team's general manager behind the plate back is going to do nothing but help the ballclub.
What These Two Will Immediately Do For Morale Once Back in Toronto
Even though Kirk did get to play some this year, it hasn't been much. He went down with a fractured thumb two months ago, and since it required surgery he hasn't been seen since the first week of April.
The only positive that came from that is that Brandon Valenzuela got the nod to the majors, and with his development, he has emerged as the clear No.2 for when Kirk comes back. There will no longer be the non-offensive threat that is Tyler Heineman, and the Jays will have easily the best catching duo in baseball.
Then, there is the problem with the relief staff, which, for the most part, has been excellent as the bullpen continues to carry a beaten-down and broken pitching crew. But they have been used at a pace that isn't sustainable.
Yimi Garcia fired a no-hit 7th inning with a strikeout in his first @BlueJays MLB rehab game for Dunedin🔥 pic.twitter.com/LsszafvTnG
— Dunedin Blue Jays (@DunedinBlueJays) June 4, 2026
Over the course of his career, Garcia has been a consistent and elite arm that a bullpen has been able to count on. Even though Toronto's relievers, led by the maniac Louis Varland, have been excellent. They need help to get through bullpen games and help limp this team along until everyone is back.
Seeing positive steps forward for both Garcia and Kirk is sure heartwarming for everyone cheering for the Blue Jays right now. Hopefully, with these two, among others, coming off of the dreaded IL this season will quickly be back on track.
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Maddy Dickens resides in Loveland, Colorado. She grew up with two older brothers, where their lives revolved around sports. She earned a master's degree in business management from Tarleton State University while simultaneously playing basketball and competing in rodeo at the collegiate level. She successfully parlayed a reserve national championship into a professional rodeo career and now stays involved in upper-level athletics by writing for On SI on several different MLB teams' pages, along with some NCAA sites.