Garcia picked up the save Monday against the Yankees. He retired all three batters he faced without recording a strikeout.
Garcia recorded his second straight save Monday night after earning his first Saturday against Colorado. This save wasn't easy as he faced the heart of the Yankees order, but he smoothly retired Juan Soto, Aaron Judge and Anthony Rizzo on nine pitches. Although Garcia has collected the last two Toronto saves, he looks to move back into a setup role soon as Jordan Romano (elbow) is slated to return this week.
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Blue Jays' Yimi Garcia: Secures first save of 2024
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Garcia struck out the side in the ninth inning against the Rockies on Saturday to earn his first save of the season.
Chad Green, who recorded the Blue Jays' first two saves this season, pitched a perfect eighth inning against the middle of Colorado's lineup. Garcia then faced the bottom of the order in the ninth and struck out Brendan Rodgers, Elehuris Montero and Brenton Doyle on a total of 12 pitches. While it was an impressive outing, Garcia may still be behind Green in the pecking order, and Jordan Romano (elbow) has already made a couple rehab appearances at Triple-A. With that, Garcia doesn't seem to have much of a window to earn additional saves.
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Blue Jays' Yimi Garcia: Picks up first win
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Garcia (1-0) was credited with the win in Friday's victory over the Yankees, striking out one in two-thirds of a scoreless inning of relief.
He entered a 0-0 tie with one out in the sixth inning and needed only seven pitches to retire Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton. Garcia was then rewarded with the win when Ernie Clement put the game's first run on the board with a solo shot in the top of the seventh. The right-hander has been kept in a high-leverage setup role while Jordan Romano (elbow) has been sidelined, with Chad Green collecting the Blue Jays' first save of the season Friday, and Garcia has yet to allow a run in 2.1 innings with a 2:0 K:BB.
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Blue Jays' Yimi Garcia: Could be part of closer committee
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Garcia could be part of a closer by committee for the Blue Jays while Jordan Romano (elbow) and Erik Swanson (forearm) are out, Scott Mitchell of TSN.ca reports.
It sounds like manager John Schneider doesn't plan to settle on one guy during what the team hopes is a short absence for Romano and Swanson. Mitchell lists Chad Green at the top of the pecking order, followed by Garcia and Tim Mayza. Garcia collected three saves while compiling a 79:15 K:BB over 66 frames for Toronto in 2023.
Blue Jays' Yimi Garcia: Looms as closer alternative
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Garcia could be in the mix for save chances if Jordan Romano (elbow) and Erik Swanson (forearm) are unavailable at the start of the season, Keegan Matheson of MLB.com reports.
As things stand right now, the Blue Jays have not ruled Romano or Swanson out for Opening Day, but given that they're both nursing arm injuries, nothing is assured. Garcia looms as potentially next in line to close and has had a strong spring, posting a 2.25 ERA and 7:2 K:BB over eight innings. The 33-year-old notched three saves for Toronto in 2023, producing a nice 79:15 K:BB across 66 frames along the way.
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Blue Jays' Yimi Garcia: Solid spring so far
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Garcia tossed 1.1 scoreless innings of relief in Friday's Grapefruit League game against the Tigers.
Entering the game in the third inning to follow Ricky Tiedemann, Garcia retired Kerry Carpenter, Javier Baez, Jake Rogers and Colt Keith for his fourth scoreless spring appearance in his last five games. The 33-year-old righty hasn't been dominant in camp, posting a 5:2 K:BB through seven innings, but he's on track to fill a setup role once again in front of Toronto closer Jordan Romano. Over the last two seasons for the Blue Jays, Garcia has racked up 41 holds with a 3.61 ERA, 1.15 WHIP and 137:31 K:BB through 127 innings.
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Blue Jays' Yimi Garcia: Under contract for 2024
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Garcia's $6 million option for 2024 vested Sunday during his relief appearance in Toronto's 3-2 extra-inning loss to the Angels, Mitch Bannon of SI.com reports.
Though Garcia took his fourth loss of the season while allowing two runs (one earned) on one hit in the outing, he was at least able to earn himself a guaranteed contract for 2024 in the process. Per the terms of the two-year deal Garcia signed with Toronto in November 2021, Garcia triggered the $6 million option since the relief appearance was his 110th between the 2022 and 2023 seasons. The 32-year-old right-hander will remain locked into a key late-inning role for the Blue Jays for the foreseeable future, though his path to picking up saves in the short-term became more challenging after Toronto acquired hard-throwing righty Jordan Hicks from St. Louis on Sunday to bolster the back end of the bullpen while All-Star closer Jordan Romano (back) is on the injured list.
Garcia recorded the final out of Friday's 4-1 win over the Angels to collect his third save of the season.
Jordan Romano started the ninth inning but loaded the bases with two outs before being lifted after his lower back locked up, and Garcia was able to retire Mickey Moniak to preserve the win. An MRI on Romano's back after the All-Star break didn't reveal any structural issues, but the Blue Jays will likely send their closer for further testing to try and determine the cause of the recurring trouble. Garcia is the next man up in the bullpen -- all three of his saves on the season have come in July, and he has a 1.80 ERA, 0.80 WHIP and 11:1 K:BB through 10 innings on the month.
Garcia picked up the save Saturday against the Diamondbacks, allowing two hits while striking out one over a scoreless inning.
With Jordan Romano still recovering from a lower back injury, Garcia entered the contest with a 5-2 lead in the ninth inning and got into trouble early after allowing singles to Lourdes Gurriel and Jake McCarthy. However, the right-handed reliever managed to pitch his way out of it, needing just four pitches to retire the final two batters and secure his second save of the season. Garcia is now 2-for-2 in save opportunities and has not allowed a run since June 17 against the Rangers.
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Blue Jays' Yimi Garcia: Secures third win
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Garcia (3-3) struck out two in a perfect inning of relief Sunday to pick up the win in an extra-inning victory over the Tigers.
With the score tied in the ninth inning, Garcia took the mound and set down Detroit's 8-9-1 hitters before Toronto took the lead in the top of the 10th. The right-hander has two wins, a save and a hold over the course of a nine-appearance scoreless streak, and since the beginning of June, Garcia boasts a 1.50 ERA, 1.17 WHIP and dazzling 15:1 K:BB over 12 innings as he pushes his way back into a high-leverage role for the Blue Jays.
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Blue Jays' Yimi Garcia: Nabs save in extra innings
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Garcia earned a save against the White Sox on Thursday by retiring both batters he faced.
The contest remained scoreless through 10 frames before Toronto put up six runs in the top of the 11th. Chicago came back with two runs of their own in the bottom of the inning and put two runners on base with one out, at which point Garcia was called upon to extinguish the fire. The right-hander needed just six pitches to do so, retiring both batters he faced for his first save of the campaign. Blue Jays closer Jordan Romano worked a scoreless 10th and picked up the victory, so there's nothing to see here in terms of Garcia's role -- he'll likely get some high-leverage work, but Romano has a near monopoly on save chances.
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Blue Jays' Yimi Garcia: Expected to avoid IL
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Garcia (knee) is expected to avoid the injured list, Mitch Bannon of SI.com reports.
Garcia hasn't pitched since experiencing right knee discomfort during a relief appearance Saturday versus the Athletics, but he should be available again out of the Toronto bullpen within the next couple of days.
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Blue Jays' Yimi Garcia: Exits with knee discomfort
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Garcia left Saturday's relief appearance against the Athletics with discomfort in his right knee, Scott Mitchell of TSN.ca reports.
Blue Jays manager John Schneider told reporters that the injury is one that has been bothering Garcia for a while, but he doesn't consider the injury serious and he doesn't believe Garcia will need to be placed on the injured list. The right-hander should be considered day-to-day, but he might miss a game or two while he recovers even if he doesn't hit the IL.
