DUNEDIN, Fla. – The evolution on the mound never stops for any pitcher, particularly one who’s 31 years old and has undergone a pair of significant surgeries. That’s why the Jaime Garcia new to the Toronto Blue Jays in 2018 is a significantly different version than the one who finished third in rookie of the year voting in 2011 and then helped the St. Louis Cardinals win the World Series in 2011.
Hard knocks and harder injuries have led to a series of stops and starts for the left-hander between then and now. With one more start remaining before the regular season begins, a minor-league outing Tuesday in Florida while the Blue Jays play an exhibition game in Montreal, Garcia is excited to test out his plans to improve on a decent, if unspectacular, 2017 campaign.
"I’m never content," Garcia said after throwing 4.2 strong innings in a 5-3 loss to the Tampa Bay Rays on Thursday. "This off-season, as soon as Day 1 started, I was already trying to find ways to improve my game and getting back to where I know I can be. I believe in myself, that I’m better than I was last year, and that’s part of that mentality of not being content, always doing something to improve and always getting better."
The details of exactly what he plans to do differently is something Garcia doesn’t intend on sharing, although the way he induced seven outs on groundballs with six strikeouts against the Rays offers some indication. His sinker, slider and changeup are all effective weapons for him and in recent years, he’s increased the usage of his four-seam fastball, last year throwing it at a similar clip to his two-seamer.
What he’s done so effectively this spring, according to Blue Jays bench coach DeMarlo Hale, is mix his entire repertoire with some deception in his delivery to keep hitters off balance.
"For me, he X’s at the bottom of the zone, meaning he can go into righties and away from righties," said Hale. "So he’s got that X at the bottom of the zone, and I think it’s difficult to pick up his ball. He hooks a little bit (at the beginning of his windup) and it’s parallel with his body, so the next time you see it is when he’s releasing it.
"He’s a pretty good pitcher when he mixes that together."
Garcia’s best season came in 2011, when he logged a career-best 194.2 innings over 32 starts with an ERA of 3.56 and a FIP of 3.23. But shoulder troubles began soon after, he underwent surgery to repair a torn labrum in 2013 and the next year had another operation to correct thoracic outlet syndrome.
In 2015 he bounced back to post a 2.43 ERA and FIP of 3.00 in 129.2 innings over 20 starts, but hasn’t been able to match that the past two years.
"As everyone knows, I’ve had a lot of ups and downs," he said. "I’ve had to reinvent myself and adapt to new things, the surgery, the body changes, you have to find new things and sometimes you create bad habits because of surgeries or because you’re injured, little things like that. It’s always about reinventing yourself and working with what you have at that point. There’s always something new."
How Jaime Garcia’s release points have evolved. From left to right, 2011 (Cardinals), 2015 (Cardinals) and 2017 (split between the Braves, Twins and Yankees).
Over time, his arm slot has moved toward the first-base side, making it tougher for right-handed hitters in particular to pick up the ball. That should help in the American League East, where right-handed mashers like Giancarlo Stanton, Aaron Judge, J.D. Martinez and Mookie Betts are set to terrorize pitchers.
Garcia got a taste of life in the division last year when the Minnesota Twins, who had earlier acquired him from the Atlanta Braves, flipped him to the Yankees before the trade deadline. He made eight pedestrian starts and one clean post-season appearance for New York before hitting the market as a free agent, signing with the Blue Jays for $8 million this year with an option for $10 million next year or a $2 million buyout.
The way he performs, obviously, will determine whether that option gets picked up, but he feels the way he’s evolved as a pitcher since his days with the Cardinals positions him to succeed.
"I feel better, man, because of my mentality," Garcia said. "Right now, I’m going to compete and that’s the bottom line. There’s no waiting to feel this way, waiting to do this, how is it going to respond. I’m going to compete, I’m going to give us a chance and continue to seek ways to put us in the best position to succeed."
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Here are some other Blue Jays talking points from Thursday:
• Teoscar Hernandez continues to hit the ball hard this spring, connecting for his fourth homer, this one a two-run shot, off Rays starter Jake Faria. A focal point for him has been on his pitch recognition and he’s done a better job of that with 16 hits in 46 at-bats, but he’s also struck out 17 times with only two walks. "I’ve struck out a lot here but I feel like I’ve been improving on the things that I was working on in during the off-season and in winter ball," said Hernandez. "I feel better at the plate, I just missed a lot of pitches that I can hit and instead of hitting them I’ve struck out. I think I’ll get better every day as the season starts."
• One element that infielder Danny Espinosa offers the Blue Jays over Gift Ngoepe is some proven big-league pop, which he showed off in the fifth inning with a solo shot off Faria. Ngoepe walked and struck out twice in three plate appearances as both players get long looks in the final week while a decision looms. Aledmys Diaz will open the season as the starting shortstop in Troy Tulowitzki’s absence, with the race between Espinosa and Ngoepe to determine who fills in behind him. "We brought in (Yangervis) Solarte, he’s not necessarily a shortstop, but he can go over there occasionally," said manager John Gibbons. "Gift is a great defender and he’s starting to show some things with the bat. We picked up Espinosa, so we feel good about where our depth is at there."
• Outfield prospect Anthony Alford did some running for the first time since suffering a Grade 2 strain of his right hamstring last week. "I felt really well," he said, "just running around, being on the field a little bit, taking BP on the field, getting some reps in. It’s good."
• When might the Blue Jays finalize their roster? "That could drag into Montreal," said Gibbons. "We’ve got a good idea of everything, but things can change, moves can be made."
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