Blue Jays reliever Yimi Garcia said he won't be ready for Opening Day. Getty
The Toronto Blue Jays opened a series against the Kansas City Royals Tuesday still hoping for reinforcements before the stretch run. Bullpen depth has mattered all year, and one name in particular has loomed as a potential boost whenever he got healthy.
That hope has been building for months. Yimi Garcia had been working his way back from a right elbow surgery dating back to last September, inching closer to a return with every rehab outing.
Tuesday, that comeback officially ended.
Getty Blue Jays reliever Yimi Garcia.
Manager John Schneider told reporters before Tuesday's opener that Garcia underwent thoracic outlet surgery last Thursday in Dallas, closing the book on any chance of a 2026 return. It's the latest setback in a rehab process that had already thrown multiple obstacles in Garcia's path.
Garcia began his rehab in the FCL before advancing to Single-A Dunedin in early June. Two outings later, he moved up to Triple-A Buffalo, where he posted a 10.80 ERA and 2.40 WHIP with five strikeouts across 3.1 innings. The results weren't pretty, but the trajectory pointed toward a bullpen return. Then a new issue surfaced.
Garcia developed bicep soreness following his outings with Buffalo, a separate issue from the elbow problem he'd been managing all year. General manager Ross Atkins addressed the situation at the time, offering some optimism even as the picture grew more complicated.
"Doctors have continued to be encouraged and see mostly positive signs," Atkins said.
Garcia returned to the mound once more with Dunedin on July 25, unaware at the time that it would be his final appearance of the season. The thoracic outlet diagnosis that followed put an end to a comeback that had felt close on multiple occasions without ever getting across the finish line.
Garcia signed a two-year, $15 million deal with Toronto back in December 2024. With this season now over and free agency looming this winter, his final pitch in a Blue Jays uniform will likely stand as the one he threw back on July 2, 2025.
Across stops with Toronto, the Los Angeles Dodgers , Miami Marlins , Houston Astros and Seattle Mariners , Garcia has appeared in 436 career games, going 23-31 with a 3.61 ERA and 1.06 WHIP. He's struck out 456 batters across 419.1 career innings while holding opponents to a .216 average, numbers that reflect a reliable bullpen arm across more than a decade in the league.
That track record is exactly why Toronto's front office held out hope for a return all season.
Garcia's 2026 season is over, and it ends without the return everyone had been waiting on. The setbacks piled up one after another, and thoracic outlet surgery closes the door for this year.
His future in Toronto is unclear heading into free agency.
For now, the Blue Jays move forward without him, hoping the bullpen depth they've needed all year shows up from somewhere else down the stretch.
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