More bullpen woes as RH Yimi Garcia on IL

Three key late-inning options in Jays’ pen missing

Prior to Monday’s game against the suddenly Go-Go Red Sox, the Blue Jays announced the club had placed RH reliever Yimi Garcia on the 15-day IL with right-elbow, ulnar neuritis. Garcia left Sunday’s game vs. the Guardians in the ninth inning in immediate distress, as the Jays held on for a 7-6 win.

Garcia, through the first 71 games, had easily been the Jays’ Most Important Player, inheriting the de facto closer role when RH Jordan Romano was placed on the IL back on May 29. This current injury to Garcia now means that the top three relievers in the Jays’ bullpen from a year ago, Romano, Garcia and RH Erik Swanson are all unavailable. Swanson was optioned to AAA-Buffalo in a surprising move back on May 28 with command issues after an earlier IL stint emerging from camp.

Garcia had just undergone an MRI on Sunday night and was expected to tell them how he felt at the end of Monday’s batting practice. I think we have that answer.

“The MRI showed nothing structural to his elbow which was great news,” manager John Schneider had told media of the MRI results, just two hours before he was placed on the IL. “Just some ulnar nerve symptoms, but day-to-day right now.

“He’s obviously very important to our bullpen. We wanted to do what’s right for him and what’s right for us at the same time. Seeing how he is as the day goes on today. If we can avoid an IL, that would be great.”

Replacing Garcia as the closer will be RH Chad Green plus a mix-and-match group of lefthanders that numbers four, as an important stretch of games vs. the lefty dominant Red Sox, Guardians, Yankees and Astros continues.

Rookie LH Brandon Eisert, 26, an 18^th round pick in the 2019 amateur draft by the Jays, was selected to the roster and activated using the 40-man spot left vacant with the departure of Cavan Biggio. Eisert, in 19 games at Buffalo, was 3-1 with a 6.35 ERA, allowing 26 hits and 14 walks in 22.2 innings, but with an impressive 35 strikeouts. He had reported earlier to the club on Monday as a member of the taxi squad, in case of this exact eventuality. Now he will be making his MLB debut.

With Swanson working out his location issues in Buffalo, Romano, at Rogers Centre, took a step towards reactivation, throwing on flat ground at 90-120 feet, Monday, then expected to be re-examined on Tuesday, before deciding on the next step in his rehab. That next step would likely be a couple of bullpen sessions from a mound, live batting practice, then perhaps an injury rehab assignment in Buffalo.

The Jays’ limou, car-service between Sahlen Field and Rogers Centre has definitely stayed busy. Also reporting to the clubhouse was RH Yariel Rodriguez, currently on the IL with thoracic spine inflammation, who has been stretched out in five recent starts with the Bisons and is expected to take over the major-league team’s fifth starter’s role as early as Friday in Cleveland.

With Garcia going onto the IL, the question became, could there be a late-inning, leverage role in Yariel’s future or is the plan to return RH Trevor Richards to middle innings, given his proven ability for more than three outs and then have RH Bowden Francis as a long man in the bullpen?  

“Yariel pitched on Sunday and felt good,” Schneider said, pre-game. “Normal in-between starts stuff for him. So, he’s here with us kind of doing everything in between. At this point, nothing is off the table, but I think looking at starting depth and trying to keep guys in specific roles, we’re leaning more towards keeping him stretched out.”

The Blue Jays are now minus 13 of the 18 saves the bullpen has recorded in ‘24.