Garcia rehab outing shows Blue Jays everything they needed to see

Yimi Garcia did exactly what the Blue Jays wanted him to do in his latest rehab outing.

The Toronto reliever logged a hitless, scoreless inning Wednesday for the Single-A Dunedin Blue Jays. Garcia threw 14 pitches (seven for strikes) in the seventh inning as the Blue Jays affiliate defeated the Daytona Tortugas 4-2.

Garcia has good rehab outing and could be a huge boost to the Toronto Blue Jays' bullpen upon his return

Garcia, 35, faced four batters, and got the first and fourth hitters to fly out to center field. He struck out the second batter looking on three straight fastballs, before walking the third batter on five pitches. Garcia had one swing and miss, and allowed only one pitch to be hit hard with an exit velocity of 97 mph. That was the first flyout to center field.

As for his pitch selection, Garcia threw eight fastballs that averaged 94.2 mph while topping out at 96 mph. His fastball typically sits around 94 to 96 mph, another good sign that Garcia may be nearing a return to the majors.

The right-hander is working his way back from surgery in September, when Garcia had scar tissue around his elbow removed. He threw some bullpen sessions in April, as well as some batting practice, before making his first rehab appearance for the FCL Blue Jays on May 7. Currently on the 60-day Injured List, Garcia is eligible to return, but a move will have to be made to get him back on the 40-man roster.

The next step for Garcia is another rehab outing with Dunedin. Arden Zwelling of Rogers Sportsnet reported Garcia will pitch Saturday when the minor-league Blue Jays host Daytona. The Blue Jays will see how he feels after that, and his next stop will likely be Buffalo with the Triple-A Bisons.

Garcia's return would be a welcomed one for the overused, undermanned Blue Jays pitching staff. With a starting rotation down to just three starters, Toronto has been using two "bullpen" days for each turn through the rotation. That, as well as struggles from a few other pitchers, has taxed the bullpen significantly. A few Blue Jays relievers are on pace for career highs in appearances this season.

There have been some nice surprises, such as Spencer Miles and Patrick Corbin. But a team can rely only so much on Triple-A or unknown pitchers to help before things get bad. Eventually a team with postseason aspirations is going to need genuine major-league arms. And Garcia can certainly help. He has a 3.49 ERA in 185 games and 178 innings during his time with the Blue Jays, striking out 204 batters and posting a 1.09 WHIP.

Hopefully, Garcia and other reinforcements are on their way.

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