Yimi Garcia

After a down year with his curveball in 2022, Garcia once again found success with the pitch last season (.189 BA). The 33-year-old threw his curve at a 34.3 percent clip, which was one-tenth of a percentage point higher than his 4-seamer that had been his primary offering throughout his career. Garcia's strikeout and walk rates improved during the 2023 campaign whilst establishing career-highs in games played (73, T-7th-most in the league) and innings pitched (66). He maintained above-average Statcast metrics across the board while recording 19 holds as one of the Blue Jays' primary setup men. Garcia's $6 million option for 2024 vested during last season, locking him into a late-inning role for Toronto for another year.

Garcia's first season in Toronto went about as you'd expect. He wasn't spectacular, but was rock solid in his eighth inning setup role, recording a career-best 22 holds. Garcia posted slightly better than league-average rates for both strikeouts (23.5%) and walks (6.5%) and maintained success with his 4-seamer (.127 BAA) despite losing a little over a mile per hour on average (94.9 mph). In fact, his heater generated a Statcast run value of -18, which was 14th-best in the league for that pitch type. 42 of his 58 strikeouts came via his fastball, which speaks to his reliance on the offering. Garcia posted a 3.10 ERA and 1.05 WHIP across 61 innings, but those ratios could have been much better if not for a brutal two-week stretch at the end of last season. Toronto's acquisition of Erik Swanson may relegate Garcia to the sixth or seventh inning, but he should continue to rack up holds for those seeking help in the category.

Marlins manager Don Mattingly had a quick hook on Anthony Bass as the team's closer after he blew Miami's first two save chances in early April. Enter Garcia, who was awarded the full-time closer role for the first time in his career. He effectively got the job done with 15 saves in 18 chances, but it came with mixed results, as the right-hander started hot before laboring between June and July (6.32 ERA, 1.60 WHIP). Miami was smart to capitalize on Garcia's pending free agency by trading him to Houston. The 31-year-old pitched in middle relief for the Astros, oftentimes during games they were trailing. Garcia still had a decent year overall with a 4.21 ERA, 1.16 WHIP and 9.4 K/9 over 57.2 innings. He recently signed with Toronto after gaining some valuable experience in high-leverage, but don't expect abundant saves with his new team.

Garcia opened the season with a pair of scoreless outings, albeit walking three in 2.2 innings. He was one of several Marlins who tested positive for COVID-19 and was unable to return until Aug. 30. Garcia showed no ill-effects, walking just two over his final 12.1 innings, fanning 17 in that span. He righty teased this level of success with the Dodgers in 2019, but served up 15 homers in 62.1 innings in his final season with Los Angeles. Last year, Garcia didn't allow a single long ball in 15 frames, in part due to a career-high 41.7% groundball rate, up from 29.6% the previous season. In 2020, Garcia cut back on his curve, throwing more sliders, and perhaps more importantly, located in the upper third of the strike zone 25% of the time compared to 32% in 2019. If Garcia maintains this, the impending homer regression will be softened. Garcia belongs in the speculative closer tier.

Bullpen roles are up for grabs in Miami and Garcia is in the mix for high-leverage duty. Over five seasons with the Dodgers, Garcia posted a 3.61 ERA and 21.1 K-BB% in 159.2 total innings. He averaged 94.2 mph on his fastball last season with one of the highest four-seam spin rates in the game (2,593 rpm). His curveball spin was close to elite, and according to Statcast, Garcia ranked among the elite in hard-hit rate allowed, xBA and xwOBA. The right-hander is an extreme flyball pitcher (career 52.2 FB%) and that is not ideal in this day and age of Major League Baseball. Indeed home runs were a major problem in his final couple seasons with Los Angeles. A little improvement there would go a long way, and Marlins Park should help in that regard even with the center-field and right-center-field fences moving in. Remember Don Mattingly is already familiar with Garcia after managing him from 2014-15.

Garcia represented a bright spot for a beleaguered Dodgers bullpen last year. His body of work included an impressive 10.8 K/9 and 1.6 BB/9, though an escalated home run rate served to drive up his ERA. Garcia suffered through an 11-game stretch in the middle of the season that saw his ERA balloon from 0.63 to 4.09, but he otherwise flashed signs of being a solid setup man one day, if not a closer. Garcia flashes a fastball in the 92-94 range, a slider, and an average changeup. In addition, Garcia handled lefties (.172 batting average against) even better than righties (.224) last year. Further developing those last two pitches will be key, but Garcia has shown enough to give the Dodgers hope that he will be around for a while. Garcia should enter spring training as a heavy favorite for one of the team's bullpen roles, though he may have to earn it.

Garcia earned a September callup after another impressive season in the upper levels of the Dodgers' system, where he was one of the team's best relievers at Triple-A Albuquerque. The Pacific Coast League is a difficult place to pitch, making his 3.10 ERA there all the more impressive. Garcia took a big step forward with his control in 2013 at Double-A, and was able to sustain that success in 2014. During his limited time in the big leagues, Garcia fanned 25.0% of the batters he faced and carried a tidy 2.8% walk rate while working predominantly with a fastball-slider combination. He'll likely be in the mix for an Opening Day bullpen spot this spring, but Garcia has minor league options left and may have to wait for injuries to deplete the team's depth before getting his second look from the Dodgers.