Blue Jays designate LHP Jaime Garcia for assignment

Once considered to be a serviceable fifth starter, Jaime Garcia’s time has appeared to run out in Toronto, prompting a rather shocking move.

According to an official team release on Twitter, the Blue Jays have designated left-handed pitcher Jaime Garcia for assignment. To fill his roster spot, the Blue Jays activated right-handed pitcher Aaron Sanchez from the disabled list. Sanchez, who hadn’t appeared in a game since June 21, started Friday’s game against the Philadelphia Phillies.

Garcia, 32, was signed to a one-year, $8 million deal this winter. His contract also includes a $10 million dollar club option, which at this point, will likely be left unexercised. According to Spotrac, the deal features four $500,000 incentives for various numbers of innings pitched, none of which had been activated at the time of the designation.

Since transitioning to the bullpen, Garcia had actually been better, tossing 13.0 innings since July 15, pitching to a 4.85 ERA with 13 strikeouts and seven walks. He collected three holds and held opposing hitters to a measly .170/.278/.319. Still, his abysmal start to the season, which included a 6.16 ERA in 13 starts, clearly wasn’t enough to satisfy the team’s front office.

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At the start of the season, it was almost certain that Garcia would remain as the fifth starter. Given his excellent and consistent track record, he looked poised to eat up innings for the Jays down the stretch.

Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case, as, despite a solid first few starts, Garcia’s stats quickly turned ugly. Following a series of minor injuries, his season went downhill in a hurry. By mid-May, his ERA had risen to over 6.00 and by the end of July, he’d only pitched into the seventh inning once as a starter.

A longtime member of the once (and possibly newly) successful St. Louis Cardinals, Garcia is one of the many names that appear on Guy Spurrier’s intriguingly informative starting pitcher map. For the season, he ranks sixth on the team in innings pitched, strikeouts and starts and eleventh on the pitching staff in W-L% (.333).

No matter what ends up happening with Garcia, his Blue Jays tenure will undoubtedly go down as dismally underwhelming and overall disapointing. Almost all fans were ready for this signing to be economical, strategic and well, worth the relatively small cost. Despite all the best wishes, sometimes baseball just has a way of working that we cannot explain.