Ross Atkins avoids total disaster by finally getting some Blue Jays some bullpen help

It's safe to say that this offseason has not been going the way the Toronto Blue Jays or their fans had hoped. Coming off a last-place finish in 2024, and with just one year of team control left over Vladimir Guerrero Jr., this was always going to be a make or break winter for Ross Atkins and Co. And yet, it's gone about the same as last year: Toronto apparently wasn't even all that close in the Juan Soto sweepstakes, and without a clear path to contention in the near future, it looks like the writing is on the wall for Guerrero Jr.

The Jays needed a win, is what we're saying. And while the team's first major signing of free agency won't singlehandedly move the needle, or convince Guerrero Jr. to about-face and sign an extension, it's at least something as the team goes about trying to patch the many holes on its roster.

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Yimi Garcia signing should be the first of many bullpen adds for Blue Jays

While Soto was priorities No. 1-1,000 this offseason, he was far from the only need to be addressed. The team also had to basically start from scratch with its bullpen, especially after the surprising decision to non-tender former All-Star closer Jordan Romano at the start of the offseason (a decision that looked even more questionable after the Philadelphia Phillies wasted no time snatching Romano up on a one-year, $7.5 million deal). The only back-end options currently on the roster were Chad Green and Erik Swanson, hardly a good spot for an ostensible contender to be.

So, on Tuesday, Atkins reunited with an old friend, reaching an agreement with righty Yimi Garcia on a two-year, $15 million deal.

Garcia spent two-plus seasons in Toronto from 2022-2024, posting a 3.44 ERA and a 10.3 K/9 over 157 innings. He's got a little ninth-inning experience, recording 15 saves for the Miami Marlins back in 2021, and he's got more than a little high-leverage experience, which is what the Jays desperately need. Clearly he and Toronto's pitching development program agreed with each other the first time around, and given the other reliever deals we've seen so far this winter, $7.5 million per year is pretty reasonable for a legit seventh- and eighth-inning option.

Of course, if this is the only addition Atkins makes to the bullpen, it'll be woefully inadequate. But a player like Garcia is a necessity for any successful relief corps, and the team's path to contention has to start somewhere.