No stranger to deadline uncertainty, Blue Jays' Garcia reinforcing trade value

TORONTO – Three years ago, with the trade deadline fast approaching, Yimi Garcia picked up his phone, opened up Twitter, as X was then known, and discovered that the Miami Marlins had just dealt him to the Houston Astros.

Garcia was surprised a deal was done – “I didn’t even know,” he said – but not surprised to be moved. “I was waiting for that moment because of the situation we were in as a team,” he said of the Marlins, obvious sellers at 44-58 that July 28 when the trade went down.

So, the 33-year-old has already experienced the type of uncertainty he’s facing as this season’s July 30 cut-off looms, once again an in-demand leverage reliever on an expiring contract on a clearly subtracting club, this time the Toronto Blue Jays.

“Everything feels normal because this is one thing we can’t control,” he said before locking down a 6-3 Blue Jays victory over the Tampa Bay Rays on Wednesday. “You don't have to be worried about things you can't control. Whatever happens, happens. So my mind is on the game. You know it's a business. You can be here today and tomorrow, you never know. It's part of this.”

No doubt, especially for the Blue Jays (46-55), who are said to be fairly busy right now discussing their six rental players. For the time being, their posture in talks with other clubs remains that they are not looking to move players under contractual control for 2025 and beyond, a stance that could perhaps be changed if an offer is compelling enough.

Given that, their top assets up for grabs are Yusei Kikuchi, whose market may accelerate after he makes his final start before the deadline Friday, and Garcia, who allowed a run and struck out two during his second outing since returning from ulnar neuritis in his right elbow.

One scout who really likes Garcia described each of his appearances between now and the 30^th as very important, since the key question isn’t whether he can handle big moments, but whether he’ll be able to post for the next two-plus months plus playoffs.

On Saturday against the Detroit Tigers, when Garcia struck out the side in a 13-pitch ninth, his fastball topped out at 97.1 m.p.h. while he got two whiffs on two changeups and another miss on one of his two sweepers.

Garcia liked where he was at in that outing, saying, “my fastball was good, breaking ball looked good, my body felt good. My next day was really good – better than what I was thinking it was going to be.”

The way he pitched Wednesday – up to 99.1 m.p.h. with his heater, whiffs on his sinker, curveball and sweeper – is sure to reinforce what a weapon he can be for a contender.

Another weapon for a contender would be Vladimir Guerrero Jr., whose recent torrid stretch is no doubt whetting the appetite of offence-seeking buyers. He opened the scoring with an RBI single in the first, added a solo shot in the third – his fifth homer in six games – and was walked intentionally during the decisive four-run the eighth, just before Justin Turner’s go-ahead RBI single. Daulton Varsho’s base hit extended the lead before a passed ball and error plated three more runs.

Manager John Schneider said in recent weeks he’s seen Guerrero no longer rushing at the plate thanks in part to a better understanding of how opponents intend to attack him, allowing him to more effectively hunt pitches. The all-star first baseman admitted he feels calmer at the plate now than before, which has underpinned his recent damage, even as speculation continues to swirl around him, in spite of the Blue Jays’ focus on trading off their rentals.

“I know there are rumours out there that a lot of things are going to happen or not,” he said through interpreter Hector Lebron, “but I'm controlling what I can control and I'm going to come here every single day and try to help my team to win some games.”

Yariel Rodriguez, a prospective part of the Blue Jays’ rotation plans in 2025, opened his outing with four perfect innings before allowing a Randy Arozarena double and Josh Lowe RBI single to open the fifth. He left one on and two out in the sixth for Brandon Little, who surrendered a walk and RBI single to Arozarena that tied the game 2-2.

Since returning from the injured list at the beginning of the month, Rodriguez has allowed only five runs in 22.1 innings over four starts, and his viability as a starter will be judged closely for the rest of the summer.

“You watch his outings, getting used to all the work in between, how he responds as the season goes to pitching every five days and how his stuff holds, really,” said manager John Schneider. “It'll probably be a little bit of an unfair snapshot and you look into the off-season and spring training to see where he lands, but seeing how his stuff plays and seeing what kind of workload we can build up.”

Garcia has certainly built up a good workload with the Blue Jays over the past 2½ seasons, logging 157 innings over 163 outings. He was expected to be an integral set-up man for closer Jordan Romano in a deep bullpen, but like so much else this season, those plans went terribly awry.

The situation the Blue Jays find themselves in “is surprising for everybody,” said Garcia. “This is not the way we want to be, but that's baseball, anything can happen. Maybe you think you have the best team, but you finish in last place, you know? It doesn't matter how good your team looks or how bad a team looks, things can go the wrong way.”

That hasn’t taken away from his overall experience with the Blue Jays, who signed him to a two-year deal with a vesting option that ended up totalling $16 million. 

“I really appreciate everything about here and the opportunity they gave me. I'm not finished yet but I think this is the best place I've played all my career,” he said. “For me, numbers matter a lot, but the people you work with, they are really good. They care about you like more than just a player, but as a person. That's really important for us.”

As for what happens next, Garcia insists he isn’t thinking about it, but he’s “prepared for everything, nothing is going to catch me off-guard,” a lasting lesson from the simple launch of an app on his phone three years ago.