DUNEDIN, Fla. – Jaime Garcia pitched pretty well last year. Well enough that not one, but two contending teams acquired him late last July. Well enough to generate 2.1 wins above replacement, according to FanGraphs.
The Toronto Blue Jays would likely welcome a repeat of the 4.41 ERA and 157 innings he provided in 2018. That’s the kind of production they missed in 2017, when the likes of Nick Tepesch, Cesar Valdez and Casey Lawrence were called on to fill in all too often.
To Garcia, though, that’s not the expectation. He’s expecting his 10th season in the big leagues to be his best yet, even if he’ll be pitching in one of baseball’s toughest divisions.
“I’m ready for that challenge,” he said. “I believe in my stuff. I believe that the best of my career is yet to come even though I’ve been through a lot, and I’m welcoming that challenge.”
Garcia’s best seasons to date came early in his career in St. Louis. He placed third in Rookie of the Year balloting in 2010 after posting a 2.70 ERA in 28 starts. The following season he logged 194.2 innings while posting a 3.56 ERA. But he has since battled injuries that required shoulder surgery in 2013 and thoracic outlet surgery in 2014.
After signing a one-year deal worth $10 million with the Blue Jays Thursday, Garcia joined his new teammates in Dunedin, Fla. Friday morning. A groundball pitcher, he generates more than his share of weak contact with an effective two-seamer. At 31 years old, he still averages 90.7 m.p.h. with the fastball.
“I believe in myself, I believe in my stuff,” Garcia said. “The way these guys received me encouraged me even more. I just know we’re going to be good this year.”
The addition of Garcia rounds out a Blue Jays starting five of Marcus Stroman, Aaron Sanchez, J.A. Happ and Marco Estrada. If healthy, that group could provide manager John Gibbons with an above-average rotation.
“You’re bringing in a good veteran who knows how to pitch,” Gibbons said. “We’re excited to have him.”
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Of course, the Blue Jays were similarly optimistic a year ago this time when Francisco Liriano seemed poised to make an impact as the fifth starter. Instead, too many pitchers got injured and too few options were available to replace them. Toronto starters combined for a 4.57 ERA.
A year later, the addition of Garcia pushes Joe Biagini out of the rotation – at least on paper. The Blue Jays will keep stretching Biagini out to keep their options open, but GM Ross Atkins said Thursday that he’d be comfortable optioning the right-hander to triple-A as a way to preserve depth. Gibbons would prefer to keep Biagini in the big-league bullpen if he’s not starting, and that possibility intrigues the 27-year-old.
“I think I’ll always prefer starting, but I’ll also say that pitching for this team and trying to help this team win in any capacity would probably trump the starting thing,” Biagini said.
Even so, the Blue Jays would likely send him to the minors if all of their starters emerge from spring training healthy. If that’s the case, Biagini will accept the challenge, and the Blue Jays will likely need him before long.
“To be a Rule 5 acquisition, the impact that he had in 2016 as a reliever, how well he handled bouncing back and forth from start to relief to start was exceptional,” Atkins said. “He’s selfless as a teammate. He remains that way.”
Those big-picture decisions are in the distance just three days into spring training. There’s plenty of time to determine where Biagini will pitch.
For now, he’s no longer among Toronto’s top five starters. That in itself shows that the Blue Jays’ rotation has improved.
“I think it’s one of the best in baseball,” Garcia said. “It’s extremely talented.”
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