The door to the Blue Jays bullpen has seen quite a few players flow in and out over the past several years, but Yimi García’s presence has been a constant since his signing during the 2021/2022 offseason. The 34-year-old righty was dealt at the trade deadline and will head to free agency for the third time in his career, and it certainly appears as if he still has some good baseball ahead of him if his elbow is good to go.

There weren’t too many highlights from Toronto’s bullpen in 2024 but García was one of them, especially to start the year. He allowed only one run in his first 18 outings (19 innings), becoming one of Toronto’s most impactful arms in high-leverage situations.

García had a pair of notable appearances in the early stages of the season, one of which was on April 2nd in Houston against the Astros. García inherited runners on the corners with no one out in the seventh inning of a one-run game, but he needed only 10 pitches to retire Chas McCormick, Jeremy Peña, and Victor Caratini to end the threat – the Blue Jays won the game 2-1. The second instance was on May 15th in Baltimore when García inherited runners on second and third with no one out, also in the seventh inning of a one-run game. After striking out Jordan Westburg, he intentionally walked Adley Rutschman to load the bases, but he retired Ryan Mountcastle and Gunnar Henderson to escape the inning unscathed. It was those nail-biting outings that had many Jays fans pushing for García to be the closer; he was dominant in any inning he was called upon.

García moved into the closer role after Jordan Romano suffered his eventual season-ending elbow injury on May 31st. Unfortunately, his stint as the closer wouldn’t last as long as he and the Blue Jays would have liked, as the right-hander suffered a right elbow injury on June 16th that held him out for almost a month. As the trade deadline approached, García’s availability became a big deal as the reliever market is always busy for contending teams and the Blue Jays were looking to sell. He was able to make it back to the mound on July 20th, making two more appearances as a Blue Jay before being traded to the Mariners six days later in exchange for two prospects. Through 29 games with Toronto, García finished with a 2.70 ERA, 0.80 WHIP, and a then-career-best 12.6 K/9.

García’s tenure with Seattle was hampered by a second injury to his right elbow. He pitched in only 10 games for the Mariners, owning a 6.00 ERA, 1.22 WHIP, 7.0 K/9 and a 4.0 BB/9. It was unfortunate that García wasn’t able to help Seattle in their efforts for a playoff push but the Blue Jays front office did a great job capitalizing on García’s value and adding a pair of prospects to their organization.

In total, García appeared in 39 games in 2024, posting a 3.46 ERA, 0.897 WHIP, 11.3 K/9, 5 saves, and 13 holds. His WHIP was his best since 2019, and his K/9 fell 0.1 points short of his career-best in 2020.

García was an impactful member of Toronto’s bullpen for two-and-a-half seasons, so there’s plenty of familiarity with the organization and staff from that perspective. His 3.44 ERA and 10.3 K/9 through his three seasons with Toronto stood out amongst the group and were in line with other career highs. At least from the outsider’s eye, García’s relationship with the organization was a strong one. Following his mid-season trade last year, he left a very positive and thankful message on his Instagram page. Sure, those actions might be commonplace in those kinds of situations, but García’s seemed authentic. Ross Atkins was asked about García right after the trade, saying that the farewell to García was, “very emotional for me,” and also said that García was “a man amongst men.”

The bullpen is without a doubt an area of need for the Blue Jays this offseason, and García would fit the mould wherever Toronto needs him but it all depends on how his elbow is right now. The Mariners placed him on the IL to finish the year but there hasn’t been any additional information on how he is doing or healing right now, as well as whether Tommy John or elbow surgery was needed. This could result in a ‘Chad Green-esq’ type of deal – multiple years with the expectation that he heals and returns either later in the season or in 2026. That doesn’t help Toronto now but keeps him around for some reliever stability after next season (if that were to happen).

García just completed a two-year, $11 million deal with the Blue Jays with his performance in ’23 activating his vesting option for ’24. Spotrac currently projects a similar market value for García of a $5.3 million AAV. When healthy last year, García proved that he may be worth a slight pay raise. Given the relationship with Toronto, García may be willing to give the Blue Jays somewhat of a “discount” but that is not a guarantee by any stretch. However, almost every team is looking for a reliever, and García is deserving of whichever team tosses him what he’s due. The biggest hurdle will be his elbow and whether he is healthy or not for the 2025 season, which will impact any sort of deal for the veteran reliever.