Blue Jays: Jaime Garcia to the bullpen after the All-Star break

Once the Blue Jays return from the All-Star break, they should have a healthier pitching squad. That will mean aime Garcia will join the bullpen.

When the Blue Jays re-signed Marco Estrada to a one year deal and brought in Jaime Garcia to round out their rotation, there was real potential for the team to have one of the stronger groups in the American League. That obviously hasn’t happened at all.

Each member of the rotation has gone through some degree of injury struggles, with the exception of J.A. Happ. The left-hander is also the only one of the original five who has pitched anywhere near his potential this season.

Based on the necessity of having to bring in some fresh arms, a great opportunity came up for both Sam Gaviglio and Ryan Borucki. Each young starter has performed very well, with Borucki looking very poised in his first handful of big league starts, and Gaviglio being one of the pleasant surprises of the year in Toronto.

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As the team approaches the All-Star break they’ll get some much needed time off, both in order to regroup as a team after a very disappointing first half, and also to get their roster healthy. By the time they begin the second half, it’s expected that Marco Estrada should be good to re-join the rotation after a tweak to his hip, and Jaime Garcia’s left shoulder inflammation should have calmed down. Unfortunately for the latter, there won’t be a rotation spot waiting for him.

They say you shouldn’t lose your spot on a professional team due to an injury, but I don’t think anyone would argue that’s the case for Garcia here. He hasn’t been anywhere close to the pitcher that he was earlier in his career, or even the valuable back-end starter he was in Atlanta, Minnesota, and New York in 2017. With Borucki and Gaviglio pitching well enough to earn their spot, and with the team having an eye on the future, you can’t blame management for making this type of move.

If and when Aaron Sanchez is able to return to the field, he’ll likely take up one of those five rotation spots as well, which means someone else will have to be moved. Other injuries could come up and change those plans of course, but for now it could be a long road back to the rotation for Garcia.

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With a club option for 2019 on his contract, it’s a shame he hasn’t performed better this season, as the Blue Jays could have theoretically flipped him for minor league assets. Sometimes the best laid plans don’t work out as you hope they will. Fortunately Borucki and Gaviglio have taken a step forward, and hopefully can continue their success into the second half while building for the future.