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Blue Jays 2026 40-man Roster Review: Yimi García spent the second half of 2025 injured
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Photo credit: © Dan Hamilton-Imagn Images
Ryley Delaney
Jan 18, 2026, 16:00 ESTUpdated: Jan 18, 2026, 15:45 EST
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Yimi García returning to the bullpen will be huge for the Toronto Blue Jays in 2026.
This is Blue Jays Nation’s annual 40-man roster review ahead of the new season. If you missed the most recent article, we looked at José Berríos. In this article, we’ll look at Yimi García.
Signed ahead of the 2022 season, García has spent parts of the last four seasons with the Blue Jays. Before the 2024 trade deadline, the team sent García to the Seattle Mariners for Jonatan Clase and Jacob Sharp. García pitched just nine innings with the American League West team before his season ended due to injury.
Last off-season, García re-joined the Blue Jays, signing a two-year deal. When healthy, García was a productive reliever, posting a 3.86 ERA and 3.85 FIP in 21 innings pitched. However, his BB% jumped up to 13.3%, the highest it’s ever been and far higher than his career BB% of 6.3%. García’s strikeout rate also dropped from 32% in 2024 to 27.8% in 2025.
Most of his innings came in the first two months of the season, as the Blue Jays placed the veteran reliever on the 15-day injured list on May 24 due to a shoulder impingement. Once he returned, García threw just one inning on Jul. 2 before being placed on the injured list again, this time due to an ankle sprain.
That marked the end of his season, even if there was hope at the time he’d return. In late August, the team announced that his season officially came to an end, as he had elbow surgery to clean up scar tissue, notably not Tommy John surgery.
The Jays often turned to García in high-leverage when he was healthy, as opponents batted .167 against him. In the five high-leverage innings García pitched, he gave up six earned runs, seven walks, and seven strikeouts.
On top of García, there are numerous high-leverage options for the Blue Jays in 2026. They signed Tyler Rogers this off-season, Louis Varland emerged as an important reliever during the postseason, and Jeff Hoffman will likely start the season as the team’s closer. With a healthy García, the Blue Jays bullpen is significantly stronger.
Next season, the 35-year-old is projected to post a 3.63 ERA and 3.66 FIP in 60 innings pitched according to Fangraphs’ Steamer. They project that his walk rate will return to normal (8.3%), while posting a 26.7 K%. You’ll take that from the right-handed reliever.
Ryley Delaney is a Nation Network writer for Blue Jays Nation, Oilersnation, and FlamesNation. She can be followed on Twitter @Ryley__Delaney.

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