Blue Jays trade away reliever Yimi Garcia ahead of deadline

The Yimi Garcia era with the Toronto Blue Jays appears to have come to an end.

As per ESPN’s Jeff Passan, the Jays are trading the right-handed reliever Garcia to the Seattle Mariners, with the main return in the deal being Dominican-born outfield prospect Jonatan Clase.

Trade news: The Seattle Mariners are acquiring right-handed reliever Yimi Garcia from the Toronto Blue Jays, sources tell ESPN.

The main return for the Blue Jays: outfield prospect Jonatan Clase.

Garcia was one of the best RP available this deadline. Seattle remaining busy.

— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) July 26, 2024

Sportsnet’s Ben Nicholson-Smith added that Toronto also got catcher Jacob Sharp in the deal.

Full deal, per sources:

RP Yimi Garcia to Mariners

C Jacob Sharp & OF Jonatan Clase to Blue Jays

— Ben Nicholson-Smith (@bnicholsonsmith) July 26, 2024

Garcia has been a part of the Toronto organization since 2022.

García has a 10-9 record with an ERA of 3.44, 179 strikeouts and 9 saves in 163 appearances for the Blue Jays in his career over the past three seasons.

García is 3-0 with an ERA of 2.70, 42 strikeouts, and five saves in 29 appearances this season.

The MLB trade deadline is set for July 30.

With the Jays currently sitting in last place in the American League East, many are expecting the team to undergo a fire sale. With no playoff success in recent years — the team’s still waiting on its first postseason win since 2016 — many fans are calling for a complete rebuild.

According to an article earlier this week from Sportsnet’s Ben Nicholson-Smith, the Blue Jays are holding a few of the franchise’s most well-known players close to their chest.

“Since the Blue Jays plan to keep the door open on contending in 2025, prying away the likes of Kevin Gausman, Chris Bassitt, Jose Berrios, and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. will be extremely difficult. Rival teams can still try, of course. It’s not like Ross Atkins is about to hang up on a fellow GM midway through a trade offer,” Nicholson-Smith wrote.

At the very least, the Garcia move is likely not the last one we’ll see from Toronto’s front office over the next few days.

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