TORONTO — The Blue Jays made the first significant trade of their summer Friday, sending reliever Yimi Garcia to the Seattle Mariners for outfield prospect Jonatan Clase and minor-league catcher Jacob Sharp.
Garcia, a free agent after the season, recently returned from the injured list, pitching a scoreless inning Saturday before allowing an earned run Wednesday. Those have been hard to come by against the 33-year-old, who will arrive in Seattle with a 2.70 ERA and 42 strikeouts compared to eight walks in 30 innings pitched.
As for the Blue Jays’ return, the speedy Clase headlines the return while the addition of Sharp helps address a lack of organizational catching depth. Clearly, the combination was intriguing enough that the Blue Jays wanted to accept Seattle’s offer instead of waiting another four days to see if someone would top it.
Clase, 22, has spent most of the 2024 season at triple-A, where he’s batting .274/.373/.483 with 10 home runs and 26 stolen bases in 59 games. A switch-hitter, he debuted in majors this year, showing off 97th percentile sprint speed but striking out in nearly a third of his plate appearances and getting optioned back to the minors after 19 games.
In Baseball America’s recently updated rankings, Clase ranks 13th among Mariners prospects. BA describes him as toolsy young player whose raw skills are ahead of his feel for the game and whose propensity for strikeouts is a potential concern. Still, for two months of a reliever, it’s an intriguing upside play.
As for Sharp, he’s a 22-year-old catcher who was originally selected in the 17th round of last year’s draft. He’s been playing at Class A Modesto this season, and he has a .255/.339/.435 batting line at that level with six home runs and nearly as many walks (18) as strikeouts (19). He didn’t rank among Seattle’s top 30 prospects in BA’s latest update.
Other trade candidates on the Blue Jays’ roster include pending free agents Yusei Kikuchi, Kevin Kiermaier, Justin Turner, Danny Jansen and Trevor Richards. Meanwhile, players under team control for 2025 and beyond will be harder to pry away from the Blue Jays, with the likes of Chris Bassitt, Kevin Gausman and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. more likely staying put in Toronto.
