Blue Jays move reliever Garcia to IL, call up Schultz
Published
The Toronto Blue Jays placed relief pitcher Yimi Garcia on the Injured List with a right-shoulder impingement on Saturday, and called up rookie reliever Paxton Schultz in a corresponding move, the team annonced.
Garcia last pitched on Thursday, allowing a hit in a scoreless inning of relief in the 7-6 victory over the San Diego Padres.
The veteran has been a stellar force at the back of the Jays' bullpen this season, and he owns a 3.15 earned-run average with 24 strikeouts over 20.0 innings to this point in the year.
Schultz, 27, made his major-league debut for the Jays in April, where he tied a major-league record and set a franchise record for strikeouts in relief in a pitcher's debut.
He pitched in two games before being sent back down to Triple-A, and holds a 4.05 ERA over 6.2 innings in the majors this year.
"This was something you work for," said Paxton after his debut, who was given the ball from his first strikeout and the lineup card to commemorate his record-tying outing.
"That's cool," he said. "I'll get some players to sign (the card)."
Toronto enters Saturday's action at an even 25-25, third place in the AL East - with a chance to drop down to fourth with a loss against the Tampa Bay Rays.