The Blue Jays announced to reporters, including Mitch Bannon of The Athletic, that Yimi García will undergo surgery to clean up scar tissue in his throwing elbow. He won’t return this year but is expected to be ready for next year’s spring training. He’ll be transferred to the 60-day injured list whenever the Jays need a roster spot.
It’s the second straight season marred by elbow issues for García. He hit the IL in June of last year for right elbow ulnar neuritis. He was reinstated from the IL in July, just in time for the Jays to trade him to the Mariners for outfielder Jonatan Clase and catcher Jacob Sharp. A few weeks after that trade, right elbow inflammation put García back on the shelf and he finished the season there.
He hit free agency and the Jays brought him back via a two-year, $15MM deal. A shoulder impingement put him on the IL in May. He was reinstated in early July but went back on the IL a few days later due to a left ankle sprain. While on the IL, his experienced a recurrence of ulnar nerve symptoms in his elbow. This surgery now wipes out any hope of him returning to the club.
Despite the injury problems, the results have still been decent, to varying degrees. Last year, he tossed 39 innings with a 3.46 earned run average, 32% strikeout rate and 7.8% walk rate. This year, in 21 innings, his strikeout and walk rates regressed to 27.8% and 13.3% respectively. However, he also increased his ground ball rate from 27.3% to 41.2%, leading to a 3.86 ERA.
The Jays presumably knew they weren’t likely to get García back for the stretch run. Ahead of the deadline, they added Seranthony Domínguez and Louis Varland to bolster their bullpen for the stretch run.
Domínguez is an impending free agent, so that opens up a spot in next year’s bullpen. If García can return to health as hoped, he could slot into that opening, though Ryan Burr and Nick Sandlin are also on the IL and could be back in the mix next year.
The Jays also provided an update on outfielder Anthony Santander, per Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet. Santander is progressing well enough that he could begin a rehab assignment next weekend with a chance to return later in September.
Toronto fans haven’t yet had a chance to see Santander at his best. Signed to a five-year deal in the offseason, he slumped to start the season and then tried to play through a left shoulder subluxation. He was eventually placed on the IL in late May with a .179/.273/.304 line on the year….
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