Blue Jays 40-man Roster Review: Yimi García continues to be an underrated part of the bullpen
7 months ago
Yimi García is one of the most underrated relievers in the Blue Jays bullpen.
This is the 40-man Roster Review, in which we’re going to take a look back at each player on the Blue Jays’ 40-man roster, and how they performed in 2023, as well as their outlook for 2024.
In 2023, García had a 4.09 ERA and a 3.39 FIP in 66 innings pitched, along with a 28 K% and a 5.3 BB%, the lowest mark he’s had since his first full season in 2015. In terms of Fangraphs WAR, this was García’s best season, as he registered a 1 fWAR, beating out the 0.9 fWAR he had the season prior.
For his Blue Jays career, the 33-year-old right-handed pitcher has a 3.61 ERA and a 3.43 FIP in 127 innings pitched, along with a 25.9 K% and a 5.9 BB%. In late July, he hit his vested option, which stated that if García hit 110 innings in 2022 and 2023, his contract in 2024 would be worth $6 million.
García was used in all types of leverage situations in 2023. In 25.1 innings in low-leverage, he faced 109 batters and struck out 29 of them while walking just three. This gave him a 4.26 ERA in low leverage situations. The righty was much better in medium-leverage, pitching 22.2 innings, facing 98 batters, and striking out 28 of them, this gave him a 3.57 ERA.
The 33-year-old also pitched 18 innings in high-leverage situations, facing 75 batters and striking out 22 of them. His 4.50 ERA in high-leverage is the highest of the three leverage situations.
Looking further into splits, we can see that García struggled when going back-to-back days, as he had a 7.20 ERA in 15 innings pitched in the 17 back-to-back games. His best ERA in this regard is when he had at least one day of rest, as he had a 3 ERA in 21 innings pitched. On two days’ rest, he had a 3.18 ERA in 17 innings pitched, with much less sample size after this mark.
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Fangraphs’ Steamer is predicting it’ll be García’s worst season as a Blue Jay, as it has him posting a 3.75 ERA and a 3.93 FIP in 62 innings pitched, along with a 25.1 K% and a 7.2 BB% for a 0.5 fWAR. Personally, I only believe Steamer when it says good things about Blue Jays players.
This is the final season in García’s contract, so hopefully he pitches well and gets the bag, although I wouldn’t be opposed if the Blue Jays signed him to an extension.
As always, you can follow me on Twitter, Instagram, and Threads @Brennan_L_D.
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