Yimi Garcia was positioned on the Blue Jays’ 15-day injured record on Saturday, because the reliever is coping with a proper shoulder impingement. Supervisor John Schneider supplied some updates on a number of injured gamers to reporters (together with Sportsnet’s Arden Zwelling) right now, together with the information that Garcia obtained a cortisone shot in his ailing shoulder and can subsequently be shut down from throwing for a couple of days whereas the shot takes impact. A extra definitive restoration timeline received’t be in place till Garcia begins throwing, Schneider stated.
Garcia hasn’t allowed an earned run in 19 of his 21 appearances in 2025, as all of his injury allowed (seven ER) came to visit back-to-back disastrous outings towards the Guardians and Angels on Might 3 and 6, respectively. He has a 3.15 ERA and a very good 28.9% strikeout fee over 20 complete innings this season, however his 12% stroll fee is way past his profession norms, and his 23.8% chase fee is effectively beneath the league common.
Even with these minor pink flags, Garcia was Toronto’s high set-up choice behind nearer Jeff Hoffman, so shedding Garcia for at the very least 15 days is one other powerful break for a Blue Jays bullpen that has been lacking some key arms for all or a lot of the 2025 marketing campaign. Erik Swanson has but to pitch in any respect this 12 months, on account of median nerve entrapment in his proper arm that surfaced throughout Spring Coaching after which some forearm soreness that interrupted the beginning of his minor league rehab task.
Thankfully, Swanson now appears able to go, as Schneider stated the reliever will get a rehab outing with Triple-A Buffalo on Tuesday. Swanson was one other pitcher ticketed for a set-up position this season, and he excelled within the place in 2023 and within the second half of the 2024 season, albeit solely after an injury-marred first half.
The information isn’t nearly as good for right-hander Ryan Burr, who went in for a check-up with staff docs following his Triple-A rehab look on Sunday. Burr is one other pitcher nonetheless ready for his 2025 debut since he was coping with shoulder irritation within the spring, and Burr’s shoulder was nonetheless feeling some discomfort within the wake of Sunday’s outing. Extra might be identified quickly if Burr’s soreness was something severe, or if his rehab could also be placed on maintain.
Nick Sandlin obtained his Blue Jays tenure off to a pleasant begin when he posted a 2.25 ERA in his first eight innings with the staff, earlier than a proper lat pressure despatched him to the 15-day IL again on April 20. With now over a month spent on the sidelines, Sandlin is on the highway to restoration, as he threw a bullpen session right now on the Jays’ coaching complicated in Florida.
Turning to place gamers, Andres Gimenez can also be down in Florida, and Schneider stated Gimenez is aiming to be a part of a rehab sport on Wednesday. Acquired together with Sandlin in an enormous offseason commerce with the Guardians, Gimenez drastically cooled off after a sizzling begin, and was hitting solely .195/.273/.305 over 143 plate appearances earlier than a proper quad pressure despatched him to the 10-day IL earlier this month. Gimenez had been the Jays’ beginning second baseman, and Ernie Clement has since moved to the keystone in Gimenez’s absence, bringing Addison Barger into the image because the common third baseman.
Alek Manoah additionally supplied reporters with an replace on his standing in the course of the Blue Jays’ latest go to to Tampa to play the Rays, as Manoah has been rehabbing from his Tommy John surgical procedure on the Jays’ Dunedin complicated. Talking with MLB.com’s Keegan Matheson and different media, Manoah is aiming to be again with the Jays in August, which might mark roughly a 14-month absence since he underwent his TJ process in June 2024.
As with all restoration from a UCL surgical procedure, in fact, this timeline remains to be fairly fluid. Manoah remains to be within the bullpen session section of his throwing development (with twice-weekly bullpens of greater than 40 pitches), so he has a methods to go earlier than turning to his personal minor league rehab work and totally constructing his arm up for a starter’s workload.
As soon as the burgeoning ace of Toronto’s rotation, Manoah’s profession has been going sideways for the higher a part of three years. Manoah adopted up his glorious 2022 season with a depressing 2023 marketing campaign that noticed him lose his command of the strike zone and his spot on the Jays’ massive league roster fully. He appeared to be considerably again on monitor when he posted a 3.70 ERA over 5 begins and 24 1/3 innings in 2024 earlier than the Tommy John process put Manoah on the IL.
It’s anybody’s guess as to how Manoah might look as soon as he makes his return to the energetic roster, but even the 2024 model can be welcomed by a Jays staff in want of rotation depth. Kevin Gausman, Jose Berrios, and Chris Bassitt stay the highest three anchors of the pitching employees, however Bowden Francis has struggled, and Max Scherzer’s personal damage issues have led to a revolving door of largely ineffective choices within the fifth starter’s position.
