Yimi

Garcia

The 34-year-old right-hander returns to the Jays where he functioned as one of the better setup men in the American League from 2022-2024 before he was dealt to the Mariners at last season’s trade deadline. He should return to a high-leverage role in front of Chad Green or whoever else the Blue Jays plan to bring in to work in the ninth inning.

Garcia joins the Blue Jays after spending most of the 2024 season with Toronto before a deadline trade to the Mariners. The right-hander picked up an elbow injury to end the year, but was effective with a 3.46 ERA and 49/12 K/BB in 34 innings prior to being placed on the injured. He should serve as a bridge to whomever the Blue Jays sign to close in 2025.

This effectively ends Garcia’s season after he suffered a setback with his sore elbow and was shutdown from pitching. Seattle made this move to create space on the 40-man roster for catcher Seby Zavala.

García was placed on the IL two weeks with elbow inflammation, and it turned out that his arm wasn’t ready when he tried to fire it back up. It seems like a best-case scenario for him now is a return for the last few days of the regular season and only then if the Mariners are still in contention.

No word yet on the severity of the injury or how long the 34-year-old hurler is expected to be shelved for. Garcia has really struggled since joining the Mariners, posting a 6.00 ERA, 1.22 WHIP and a 7/4 K/BB ratio across nine innings. Gabe Speier was recalled from Triple-A Tacoma to take his place in the Mariners’ bullpen.

Muñoz battled through increasing rain to lock down this save. His velocity was down a few ticks across the board, but that can likely be attributed to the wet conditions he was pitching in. There’s some fear Yimi García siphons off some save chances from Muñoz as Ryne Stanek did at times this year, but it hasn’t happened yet as Muñoz grabbed saves in back-to-back games to close out this weekend series.

The Mariners are always one of the most active teams on the trade front, and Jerry Dipoto is showing everyone that he’s going for it this season — acquiring Randy Arozarena from the Rays and Garcia from the Jays in the past 24 hours. The 33-year-old right-hander will bolster an already strong Mariners’ bullpen helping to setup games for closer Andres Munoz.

Passan also notes that outfield prospect Jonatan Clase will head to the Blue Jays as part of the return package. The Blue Jays were obvious sellers, so it’s not surprising to see Garcia get dealt as he was one of the top bullpen arms thought to be available before the trade deadline. He’ll strengthen the Mariners’ already terrific setup corps in front of closer Andres Munoz.

The 33-year-old hurler will be active and in uniform as the Jays kick off their second half of the season against the Tigers on Friday evening in Toronto. How the save chances will shake out between Garcia and Chad Green remains to be seen though. Prior to landing on the injured list in mid-June, Garcia had registered a 2.57 ERA, 0.79 WHIP and a 37/7 K/BB ratio over 28 innings.

It sounds like the 33-year-old right-hander could be activated from the injured list prior to Sunday’s first half finale. Prior to landing on the injured list with a nerve issue in mid-June, Garcia had registered a 2.57 ERA, 0.79 WHIP and a 37/7 K/BB ratio over 28 innings,