Yimi García and a New Blue Jays Bullpen Approach
While Toronto Blue Jays fans searched for Kevin Gausman splitter compilations and watched other top free agents fall off the board in the final hours of MLB transactions, another Toronto signing faded into the background.
In contrast to Gausman's $110 million deal or some of free agency's other big signings prior to December 1, Toronto's two-year, $11 million deal for reliever Yimi García might seem boring. But, it's the type of boredom Toronto's bullpen desperately needed.
Toronto took some shots on relievers last offseason, hoping on low-cost, high-upside plays that, for the most part, all stopped working at the same time. Unfortunate timing, sure, but Toronto's bullpen undoubtedly cost them some games in 2021, and maybe cost them a playoff spot. There was room for a change in approach and Toronto's signing of García might signal that shift.
García's deal was the first multi-year contract given to a full-time relief pitcher by this Blue Jays management group ever, and the first guaranteed multi-year RP deal by the organization since B.J. Ryan's in 2006.
Toronto's current decision-makers have shown a knack for finding value at the bottom of a bullpen free agent market, taking one-year shots on upside guys like Kirby Yates, David Phelps, Rafael Dolis, and Tyler Chatwood. It's the type of approach that inspired seasons like Daniel Hudsons' 2018, Dolis' 2020, and Tim Mayza's 2021. But it's the same approach that leaves open the opportunity for misses to combine with bad luck and injury, cascading into disaster.
Toronto largely has the bullpen ceiling in place, with Jordan Romano and Mayza rocking FIPs around three and thriving in late-inning roles last year. They could use one more leverage arm—most bullpens can—but the issue in 2021 was the floor, a floor that gave out. The issue was addressed in part by the acquisitions of Adam Cimber and Trevor Richards mid-season, and García's multi-year signing signals a further commitment to stability over spectacle.
The 31-year-old posts high strikeout rates, hovering at 9.5 K/9 for his career and owns a solid 3.60 career ERA (113 ERA+). Aside from a dominant shortened season in 2020, he's never reached the heights of Yates, but, like Cimber and Richards, offers the Blue Jays a new look from the pen with established durability and reliability. García has pitched at least 55 innings in three of his five full seasons in the big leagues, reaching the mark in 2021 and 2019, and has never recorded a season with a walk-rate over three per nine in his career.
Entering free agency, García performed at a level that didn't require an outrageous monetary commitment but showed enough to warrant the multi-year bullpen deal Toronto avoided until this offseason. Even still, he's not completely devoid of upside and checks boxes Toronto looked for in signings like Yates, Phelps, and swingman Shun Yamaguchi. As pointed out by Sportsnet's Arden Zwelling last week, García flashes elite spin on his primary pitches and the type of swing-and-miss stuff of someone better than a 4.1 career FIP. But, even if a next step isn't taken, García brings a sigh of relief to a Blue Jay bullpen that couldn't come up for air throughout 2021.
A safe signing like García doesn't preclude the Jays from adding another Yates-esque risk—if anything, it insulates Toronto enough to take the upside shot they clearly love. The Blue Jays spent multiple seasons during their recent rebuild talking about 'raising the floor,' but sometimes winning teams have to worry about that floor, too.
Mitch Bannon is a baseball reporter for Sports Illustrated covering the Toronto Blue Jays and their minor league affiliates.Twitter: @MitchBannon