There’s a growing sense that Yimi García won’t pitch again for the Toronto Blue Jays this season, at least in the regular season.

García, who’s been limited to just 22 relief appearances by multiple injuries and hasn’t appeared in a game since July 2, continues to experience ulnar nerve symptoms in his right elbow/forearm and remains without a timeline for return. He was re-evaluated in Toronto over the weekend, but, as manager John Schneider described, that visit didn’t prove very productive.

We can all probably assume where things are trending here.

At this point, García is starting to run out of time to mount a late-season return before the end of September — if he even returns at all. The 35-year-old has been dealing with elbow/forearm discomfort for much of the last 14 months, with the first report of it coming during an IL stint in June of last season. And he doesn’t seem any closer to finding a resolution for this nagging ailment.

Another element working against García and the Blue Jays is the dwindling minor-league schedule. Most of the organization’s affiliates will conclude the regular season in early September, while the triple-A Buffalo Bisons will play their final game on Sep. 21. In any case, that doesn’t leave much wiggle room for a potential rehab assignment, especially for someone who’s yet to resume throwing.

It’s unclear how both sides will ultimately decide to move forward with this situation (surgery or continued recovery). For the time being, though, Toronto probably has to operate as if García won’t be an option for the rest of 2025, and if he somehow does end up returning, any innings logged should be considered a bonus.

The Blue Jays aren’t strangers to being without García for an extended period. They’ve essentially had to carry on without him for most of this season, and have done so fairly well. However, it’s one thing to achieve that feat in the regular season. It’s another to do it in the playoffs.

If the hard-throwing right-hander isn’t available in October, it’ll drastically change the outlook of Toronto’s bullpen, particularly at the back end. The value of having a stable of dependable high-leverage relievers in the post-season has never been higher. Just look at last season’s Cleveland Guardians, or this year’s San Diego Padres. They both specialized in the same area: featuring a deep complement of elite swing-and-miss hurlers in the ‘pen.

Given how Toronto’s roster is built, this team likely hopes to follow that same blueprint this post-season, shortening games with their bullpen by lifting a starter before he faces a lineup for the third time. Executing that strategy probably won’t run as smoothly without García, though.

Having him healthy makes everyone’s job easier. With his starter-esque repertoire, he’s the perfect extinguisher for any fire — whether it’s against a string of tough righties or lefties — and can confidently bridge the gap in the eighth inning to closer Jeff Hoffman in the ninth, which is probably where his presence has been missed the most.

This Blue Jays bullpen ranks near the top of the sport in swing-and-miss, as they should for a group that features Hoffman, trade-deadline acquisitions Seranthony Domínguez and Louis Varland, along with Yariel Rodríguez, Brendon Little, Braydon Fisher and Mason Fluharty. But for as many strikeouts as they’ve racked up, they’ve routinely struggled in two other key areas: walks and home runs.

García, on the other hand, has proven reliable in all three aspects throughout his tenure with the franchise, particularly since the start of 2023.

Command, or a lack thereof, is a problem that’s reared its ugly head a few too many times of late for this ‘pen, with Monday’s 5-2 loss to the Pittsburgh Pirates — featuring four walks from Blue Jay relievers, two throwing errors and a run-scoring wild pitch from Little — serving as the latest example.

A high workload and fatigue are surely playing a factor this late into the season, especially for a relief corps that’s been heavily relied on in ’25, compiling the 10th-most innings (462.2) in the majors. But there could be another reality at play, too — perhaps their identity is being a stuff-over-command stable of arms.

It’s probably the best way to describe Little and Domínguez. They both rank in the 95th percentile or higher in whiff rate while also owning a first-percentile walk rate this season. When they’re on, it’s incredibly tough to square them up. But when they’re not, good luck trying to predict where the ball is landing.

That Jekyll-and-Hyde sentiment can also apply to Rodríguez, who’s seen his whiff rate climb into elite territory (31 per cent clip in June and August) while emerging as a high-leverage reliever, but has struggled to limit free passes in the second half.

Even Fluharty hasn’t been as sharp in recent weeks, issuing more walks (six) than strikeouts (five) across seven innings of work this month.

While it hasn’t been the cleanest of stretches for Hoffman, either, as he walked five against the Los Angeles Dodgers on Aug. 10, his first outing in a week. Keeping balls in the yard has been a much more pressing concern, considering Toronto’s closer is tied for the fourth-most home runs allowed (10) among major league relievers.

This is where a healthy Yimi García would come in handy. For a Blue Jays bullpen susceptible to walks and home runs, having his steady presence at the back end would help ease most of these concerns while bumping everyone down one spot on the trust-o-metre, except for Hoffman, likely slotting the rest of the club’s relievers into more comfortable roles.

Unfortunately, that isn’t a luxury this team currently possesses.

If things remain status quo, Toronto will not only miss García’s presence down the stretch of the regular season, but he’ll also be missed during the playoffs, particularly his 15.2 career innings of post-season experience. That’s an element this ‘pen is running a bit thin on, as Domínguez (17.2 innings) and Varland (0.2 innings) are the only healthy relievers with prior experience in October — Nick Sandlin (0.2 innings) would be the third if he’s available.

The likes of Rodríguez, Little, Fisher and Fluharty have been tremendous at rising to the occasion all season long, even with the ineffectiveness that they’ve shown at times. And they now have considerable help in the form of Domínguez and Varland, both of whom have strengthened the back end of this group.

But do the Blue Jays have enough viable high-leverage arms for the playoffs? That’s something only they can answer this fall as they plan for the likely scenario of embarking on a deep run through October without one of their most reliable bullpen weapons.