TORONTO — The Toronto Blue Jays are losing one of their most reliable relievers but are inching toward the return of one of their biggest off-season acquisitions.
Reliever Yimi Garcia will miss the rest of the Blue Jays' season to clean up the scar tissue around his elbow on his right arm but veteran slugger Anthony Santander started taking batting practice with the team on Friday for the first time in months.
"It sucks. Sucks for him, sucks for us, but it just kind of got to that point," said Blue Jays manager John Schneider of Garcia's season-ending surgery. "He'll be ready for spring training, which is good.
"So we'll see how the recovery goes, but hopefully it's as normal as an off-season as he can have. But the plan is to be ready for spring."
Garcia (1-2) has a 3.86 earned-run average with 25 strikeouts and 1.19 walks/hits per inning pitched over 21 innings this season, earning three saves.
Santander hasn't played since May 29, instead spending most of his time at Toronto's spring training facility in Dunedin, Fla., recovering from a shoulder injury. He did the full range of pre-game activities with his teammates on Friday, including hitting, running, and fielding.
Schneider said that Santander would follow that routine all weekend as the Blue Jays hosted the Milwaukee Brewers in a showdown between the best teams in Major League Baseball. Santander will then travel with the team for their series in Cincinnati against the Reds.
He will have a conditioning stint in the minor leagues before returning to the bigs.
"Did stuff in the cage already, outfield work, he's running the bases too, and kind of increasing his volume, so that's good," said Schneider.
Santander's potential return in September creates a log-jam for Toronto at designated hitter.
The 30-year-old Santander signed a five-year, US$92.5 million deal with the Blue Jays in the off-season. He got off to a disappointing start, however, hitting .179 with six home runs and 18 runs batted in with just a .273 on-base percentage and .304 slugging percentage.
In his absence, George Springer has been Toronto's go-to DH. The 35-year-old right-fielder has had an excellent season with a .303 batting average, 24 home runs, 67 RBIs, a .391 OBP and .541 slugging percentage. Springer's resurgence has been partly attributed to him getting more rest by not playing in the outfield.
"I think they kind of split it, I guess," said Schneider on balancing Santander's return with Springer's production. "I think George is fine playing the outfield. I think that whenever Tony does get playing in triple-A, he'll play in the outfield too, so that's an option.
"I think just the fact that he's feeling better is good, and then I want him — when he does come back — to be clicking and not tentative or anything, and be able to produce."
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 29, 2025.
John Chidley-Hill, The Canadian Press
