Jays sign Yimi García

Not the huge free agent signing we were hoping to see, but the Jays have added to their bullpen, signing RHP Yimi García.

García is 31, has pitched seven seasons in the MLB. In 2021 he started the year with the Marlins and finished it with the Astros. In 57.2 innings, he had 18 walks, 60 strikeouts and a 4.21 ERA (3.88 FIP). García didn’t do that well in leaving runners on base (61.6%, when his career number is 73.3%).

He throws hard, averaging 96.1 MPH on his fastball, also throwing a slider and a curve, with an occasional slider and change.

A clip of a scouting report from FanGraphs:

García has the stuff. He throws a mid-90s fastball with a 98th percentile spin rate. His curveball, too, has 89th percentile spin. His third primary offering, a slider, is also pretty great.

Hitters just couldn’t hit García. Last season, opponents batted just .176 against him, though this may have been fueled at least in part by his .171 BABIP against. He only allowed 40 hits last season; his 0.87 WHIP was the sixth-best among all qualified relievers. But the results — a 3.61 ERA, 5.19 FIP — stand in opposition to García’s seemingly-excellent underlying ability. How to explain such a large disparity? Of García’s 40 hits allowed, 15 (or 37.5%) went for home runs.

Jon has this little bit of news (or newsish stuff) too:

And, just after I hit publish:

Update

Garcia is getting a multi-year deal. Two years, plus a vesting option.