Yimi Garcia is getting closer, but John Schneider's latest update made it clear the Blue Jays reliever still is not all the way back.
After Thursday's rehab outing with Triple-A Buffalo, Schneider said Garcia felt “OK, a little bit sore.” That alone tells you Toronto is still watching the recovery carefully instead of rushing him straight into the bullpen.
Garcia threw only 0.2 inning in that appearance, and his fastball sat at 93 mph. That is not a bad sign on its own, but it also is not the kind of dominant final tune-up that wipes out all concern.
The important part now is what comes next. Schneider said Garcia is scheduled to pitch again for Buffalo on Sunday, which means the Blue Jays still want one more checkpoint before deciding whether he is ready to rejoin the major-league club.
That tracks with the way Toronto has handled him all month. Earlier updates said the club wanted to test how Garcia bounced back on shorter rest before activating him, especially after elbow soreness slowed part of his rehab process.
This is why the latest soreness matters, even if Schneider did not make it sound alarming. Garcia is coming back from elbow surgery in 2025, so the Blue Jays are not just looking for one clean inning. They are looking for proof that his arm can recover normally and hold up through a regular reliever schedule.
Toronto still needs Yimi Garcia, but patience is winning
The Blue Jays bullpen has had enough churn that Garcia's return would matter right away. He signed a 2-year, $15 million deal with Toronto in December 2024, and the club clearly still views him as a meaningful late-inning piece when healthy.
But this update says the team is choosing caution over urgency. If Thursday had been perfect and the recovery clean, Garcia likely would be much closer to an immediate activation. Instead, Toronto is sending him back out Sunday and waiting for one more read. This is an inference based on Schneider scheduling another rehab outing rather than activating him immediately.
That does not make this bad news. It makes it incomplete news.
Garcia is still throwing, still building, and still in the final part of the process. The Blue Jays just are not ready to say the process is finished yet.
So the headline for Toronto is simple. Yimi Garcia came out of his latest rehab outing feeling only a little sore, but the Blue Jays still want another Buffalo appearance before deciding whether he is ready to help the bullpen again.
Should the Blue Jays wait until Yimi Garcia feels fully normal before activating him?
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