Blue Jays sign veteran starter Jaime García

The Toronto Blue Jays announced the signing of veteran starter Jaime García to a one-year contract with a club option for 2019.

Blue Jays announced the one-year $8-million contract with a $10-million club option or a $2 million buyout for 2019 for veteran pitcher, Jaime Garcia. The deal also includes $2 million per year in bonuses based on the innings pitched. The deal maxes at $22 million over the two years, and guarantees García $10 million.

Spring training is underway and the the team is starting to look like it’s ready for the season ahead. After several weeks of rumours linking the Blue Jays with starters, the rumours likely concluded with the announcement of the deal with the veteran Mexican lefty.

Jaime García finished 2017 with 5 wins and 10 losses with a 4.41 ERA in 157 innings pitched between the Atlanta Braves, Minnesota Twins and the New York Yankees. The left hander made 27 starts between the three teams, eight of them with the division rival Yankees. He has a career winning record of 67-55 with a very solid 3.69 ERA in eight Major League seasons.

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The signing of the 31 year old provides the Blue Jays with a very fine fifth starter. García doesn’t have lights out stuff with a 91-mph fastball, but has a very big repertoire which includes a four-seam and two-seam fastball, change-up, curveball, and a slider. Also, his 11.1% swinging strike rate in 2017 is an encouraging statistic. García also induces a lot of ground balls. He has a 56.2% career ground ball rate.

The starting rotation now consists of Marcus Stroman, J.A. Happ, Aaron Sánchez, Marco Estrada, and Jaime García. It can be argued that it’s the best rotation in the division, and one of the best in baseball. This signing also means Joe Biagini is more likely to be back in the Jays bullpen where he has proven to be a very important and reliable piece for the team over the last couple of seasons, or at the very least he’ll serving as rotation depth.

With this move the Blue Jays add certainty to the rotation with a very experienced arm and a quality arm at the bottom of a rotation who is key to a successful 2018 season.

Next: Marcus Stroman loses arbitration, not happy about it