The Blue Jays are calling up top catching prospect Gabriel Moreno, as first reported by Daniel Álvarez-Montes of El Extrabase. Keegan Matheson of MLB.com adds that Moreno’s call-up is likely to coincide with Toronto’s upcoming weekend series in Detroit. No 40-man moves will be required to facilitate Moreno’s debut, as the young catcher was added to the team’s roster back in 2020.
Signed as an international free agent in 2016, the 22-year-old Moreno has seen his stock soar after an excellent 2021 showing. Entering the 2022 season both Baseball America and MLB.com ranked Moreno as the seventh best prospect in baseball after previously missing top prospect lists (and the 2020 season) entirely.
Through 32 games last season at Double-A, Moreno hit an otherworldly .373/.441/.651 with eight home runs and a manageable 22 strikeouts. A right thumb fracture limited the amount of regular season reps given to the Jays’ top prospect, but it didn’t stop him from receiving a promotion to Triple-A at the end of the year. An additional 100 plate appearances of .329/.410/.494 hitting in the Arizona Fall League, against older competition no less, only helped to reinforce the hype.
Moreno’s 2022 season hasn’t been quite as powerful as last season’s performance, but a .323/.377/.406 showing against Triple-A competition was clearly enough to impress Toronto’s top brass. Those 35 games will net Moreno his first big league call-up, but it remains to be seen what position he’ll be manning when the decision becomes official.
Primarily a catcher with a strong arm, Moreno has received the odd start at DH and third base in recent years to get his right-handed bat into teams’ lineups. With Alejandro Kirk producing at an elite level from behind the plate and offseason acquisition Matt Chapman locked in at third, there doesn’t appear to be a slam dunk place on the field for Moreno to helm.
Catcher Zack Collins was recalled just yesterday to fill in for injured catcher Danny Jansen (who was having a strong season in his own right), a move that perhaps signals the three catchers will shuttle between catcher and DH duties for the time being. If nothing else, Moreno’s call-up figures to place some pressure on a number of bench players and outfielders (who have seen reps at the DH position) who have underperformed offensively thus far.
Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.
Exciting !
I’d say Collins is going back to Buffalo
Probably a reliever, then collins when Mayza is ready
LHP Andrew Vasquez rolled his ankle covering first in the 9th inning of today’s game, Looked bad, so he may be going on the IL, in which case Moreno probably just takes his roster spot.
Gabriel is going to be a stud. Congrats, Jays fans
There was this kid named Travis Snyder, He was the next 30/30 outfielder with an excellent arm. Another named Russ Adams, He was a can’t miss SS with gold glove D and a good bat. Kyle Drabek also comes to mind, The Jays traded Roy Halladay for him, his name might sound familiar, his father Doug was a pretty good SP.
None of those can’t miss prospects did anything but make a few bucks playing a children’s game
Let’s not go getting too excited over a sub 6′ catcher who could end up being a so so 2B platoon when all is said and done.
But boy do I hope he’s the best C to ever wear the tools of ignorance
^ fun at parties
Lol. At least I bring booze and dope
And you make sure everyone knows you brought it.
I guess, but only because I’m trying to promote a good time, Jack and Jim flow liberally to anyone with an empty cup, and I’ve always got a dozen joints ready to burn at any given moment.
Not for clout, just because if im going to have the night out for fun, I’d like all around me to have as much if not more fun!!!
Sorry to take the steam out of your joke, apologies are common from Canadians though so pretend im just a troll sap and continue the gag, I have broad shoulders. It’s all in fun
JaysFan1981 – There’s a reason they call it “dope”.
Yes and there are also a few dudes named Bo Bichette and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. Those guys seem okay.
LOL! I never get tired of people coming in to say that not all prospects are guaranteed success. No schiitt Sherlock. Out of the 7B+ people on Earth, all 7B+ people are already aware of this. Next you’ll be telling us that Jarren Duran is not a lock HOFer.
@JoeBrady
Easy ki77er, no one here was attempting to insult your delicate sensibilities.
Go outside, take a deep breath of some fresh air.
We’ll still be here to berate when you get back don’t worry. Most of us take breaks too so we can touch grass occasionally
I’d say listing examples of some notable busts is a fair reply to someone announcing that a prospect “is going to be a star”
People are tightly wound around here
Heck you can play this game with Blue Jays catching prospects alone. There’s always a Josh Phelps, or a Robinzon Diaz, or JP Arencibia, or AJ Jimenez, or Max Pentecost that fans and analysts think is going to be the savior. Then an Alejandro Kirk shows up from nowhere and actually plays at the big league level.
Personally I’d say trade every big C prospect you can. Don’t play roulette.
Mannnnnn, I forgot about Arencibia. Dude was supposed to be THE guy.
Traded away 2 catchers that are still in the majors to keep Arencibia
But how is Kirk not the catcher going forward? His offense is too good for him to sit down for this kid. it’s a nice problem to have, for sure.
Because both can be a DH. If Moreno proves better defensively he can catch 3 of 5 and Kirk 2 of 5, while keeping both bats in the lineup. Same way they have done with Jansen up til now
@Jaysfan1981 yep.. definitely remember all those busts. Snider, Adams, big disappointments. I think Moreno will be a different story though. We’ll see.
If he sticks a trade would likely come soon to be you would think. They would have 5 40 man catchers and 3 on the 26, Moreno, Jansen, Kirk. Kirk would prob be the be likely 1 to go and would fetch a good return, the lefty OF power bat they are needing I would hope maybe not straight up tho. They could also just let it ride as Moreno can play 2b/3b so they could easily give the 3 enough AB’s between C/DH/2b
Can’t see any team that would turn over their pitching staff to Kirk as a Catcher.
Looks good in rotisserie baseball though.
Kirk exclusively caught the AL cy young winner last year, who’s now looking terrible on a new team.
Kirk can catch, AND hit. Like really hit.
He was borderline not minimally capable of it the first couple years. It’s different this year. He’s made big improvements. Workload seems to be a concern with him. He was in a perfect role as a backup/timeshare with DH/PH duties as well to make him a lineup regular but not full time in the field.
@ Samuel actually Kirk is not only there best offensive catcher he is also their best defensive catcher right now and there are a lot of stats to back that up. I know stats don’t tell the full story but as I pointed out in another post Kirk tends to get starters deeper into games than Jansen does.
So lets hope Moreno does his job and the Jays do what they should have done long ago and that is to get rid of Jansen because he is not a good catcher.
Thank you Johnny Superscout
Lol Samuel has always been a joke.
The Giants could use a catcher.
Cubs too, after they trade Willie.
Jansen is absolutely the one who should be traded. Not least because trading any of the others means you end up with Collins catching some of your playoff games when Jansen is hurt — Jansen has managed over 200 ABs just once in his career. Cash him in while his power surge has given him some value. Some contender will offer a prospect or perhaps a solid reliever for a veteran catcher with a solid defensive reputation and a power bat and years of control left.
Want to see if he can handle a pitching staff, call a game, and play D at Catcher in MLB.
Sure seems like he can hit.
A little worried his luster will wear off quickly with a slow start.
He’s the key to a Soto trade.
Jansen can handle a staff very well and his bat is rounding into form like was thought. He’s a fully capable #1 Catcher in this league and any team would be happy to have him.
Kirk is also showing his bat plays at any position and caught the AL Cy young winner exclusively last year. He’s no slouch either.
Screw Collins, he’s so so. Depth, emergency C with a little pop
There’s absolutely no need to bring Moreno up, if he rakes then we end up trading Kirk , if he struggles, he’s no longer the #1 trade chip any team has.
No upside in this move, as excited as I am to see him get some playing time
Don’t you worry at all little one.
I agree with almost all of what you’re saying here. But to me Kirk is all around the better defender compared to Jansen in my opinion. Kirk’s pitch framing is absolutely elite. He’s got a quick and accurate release on throws to second. Maybe his game management and language barrier holds him back a bit at the moment but his upside is so far beyond Jansen I think it’s crazy to even think about trading him. I’d rather trade Moreno to be honest but that’s only because we aren’t sure yet how his bat will play against major league pitching. Kirk’s bat is world class and it’s not going anywhere but up.
Fair, in all honesty if they were valued equally I’d probably want to stick with Kirk.
I won’t be mad really no matter what direction they go in.
It’s a crap shoot, all 3 of Jansen Kirk and Moreno could go on to have great careers. ALL could eventually flop and have limited success.
They key is keeping the “one” who’s the best of the 3.
Just hope Shapiro and Atkins are as good as they claim and showed in Cleveland and we don’t regret seeing Kirk put up MVP seasons for someone else
In Cleveland Shapiro / Antonetti make Catchers out of borderline infielders that never became very good Catchers.
When Victor Martinez had to be moved from SS he should have been moved to 3B or 1B (with some DH’ing). They made him a Catcher (they could get a leg up in their fantasy league with his offensive stats as a C). He was never that good at it. Later in his career (after washing out at C in Boston) Detroit used him properly as a 1B / DH. He prolonged his career there. Victor would be in the HOF today had he been an infielder / DH.
You honestly think that other teams look at 2 weeks of ABs when valuing major trade chips?
+ they aren’t getting Soto.
collins can’t catch, Moreno is the better catcher, this helps keep Kirk from being overworked. Lots of upside in this move. They are a win now team and this makes the team better on both sides of the ball.
You’re probably right. Ruiz is the Nats C of the future. Moreno probably doesn’t hold much value to them except in a flip (bit ruiz could be flipped too)
Don’t burst my bubble. Soto to the Jays is a 1 in 30 chance regardless lol
Not sure the Jays would pay Soto. While they have the money, the team reminds me of Houston a few years back as their young MLB talent will get expensive together. I’m not an expert on their financial management situation so please correct or add to this post.
I mean, the dodgers had Josiah gray start twice just to trade home last year. This could be the same scenario
@ Jaysfan1981 Jansen is not a number one catcher he is actually a bad catcher that can’t call a game. Stats don’t tell the full story but they don’t lie either have a look and you will see he is actually towards the bottom in most defensive categories in spite of what the Roger’s media group would want you to believe. Its worth taking a look at him as you can see he is not very good defensively.
Darthyen, Baseball reference has Jansen in the top 5 of all defensive categories in the AL
I am not seeing that. I am seeing a tie at 4th for defensive stats at catcher and Jansen is not there. I can not get the full list, I may need to spend more time there but Baseball prospectus had him at 60 out of 91. JUST defensive metrics. He was 60 in defensive adjusted. So not sure if you are looking at JUST defensive metrics not overall (defense/offense combined)
So I was able to get the full list of stats from the site you quoted and I am not seeing Jansen near the top in any of the main catcher stats. For example defensive runs saved above average he is tied for 35th at 0, In comparison Reese Mcguire is at second with 5 and Kirk is tied for third with 4. Jansen range factor (putouts + assists/innings) he is 69th. If you go to other sites where they do things like pitch framing he is also towards the bottom.
As per Branch Rickey – which has shown to be true for over 100 years -the responsibilities of a Catcher in order are:
1 & 2 – Handle a pitching staff and call a game (you can flip-flop these if you want).
3 – Play defense – in modern MLB that primarily means blocking balls in the dirt as pitchers want to throw breaking pitches hard even with a man on 3rd in a close game. They sometimes mess up their grip or release point). Teams seldom bunt or try to steal anymore, and stealing primarily depends on the pitcher holding the runner on.
4 – Hitting. Any you get is a bonus.
Rickey’s theory holds up as we see guys like Martin Maldonado anchor the Actros pitching staff even if he hits under .200; and the Yankees finally getting rid of their offensive catcher – Gary Sanchez – and going with Jose Trevino, Kyle Higashioka, and Ben Rortvedt; none of whom are very good hitters but they work with their pitchers. The Yankees currently have the best record in MLB along with the best pitching in MLB (primarily due to one of the best pitching coaches). This is what wins.
As with the silly pitch framing stats (based on inaccurate measurements of balls in the strike zone – if the measurements were accurate MLB would have been using computerized ball/strike calling years ago…..there’s more here but that’s another post) there are really no accurate stats to measure a Catchers effectiveness. And make no mistake – the Catcher is the most important player on a team as far as wins-losses go.
I didn’t think this would happen till later in the season. Whose he playing over
He’s obviously gonna split time with Kirk for the time being. Will most likely be sent back to AAA whenever Jansen is healthy,and either gets called back up when Jansen gets traded or injured, or in September
What’s this crazy love for Jansen all about. Ya he’s a good dude but there’s no way I’d be giving up Kirk over him. A Moreno / Kirk combo with them cycling through dh would be the best catching tandem in the league for the next 6 years easily. Yes there’s more value in trading Kirk but there’s no guarantee Moreno hits like Kirk is in the bigs. You just never know with prospects how they will adjust but I’m definitely excited to see how Moreno’s bat plays in the show. If the all star game were tomorrow Kirk would be the starting catcher for the AL. You don’t trade guys like that when they’re cheap for the next 5 years!
When stock sores like that it sticks out like a soar thumb.
“soar”, not “sore”
The grammatical errors on this site lately are bad. Time to hire an editor.
Moreno hasn’t even been officially promoted and already the trade scenarios are flying lol.
Just enjoy the kid for however long he’s up (my guess is it’ll be brief) and don’t be concerned about having too much of a good thing (ie. catchers) if he plays well enough to stick.
These things have a way of working themselves out.
Top teir comment. Wish as a Jays fan I could be so nonchalant.
History tells me we’ll screw this up somehow and end up with Heineman as our starting C and nothing but failed trades and busts in prospects.
Being a fan is taxing lol
Well Jaysfan1981, you maybe should follow the team a little closer as Heineman is a Pirate now not a Jays player
Touchee 1977
I honestly thought we were able to sneak him back down to AAA, missed the part where the Pirates nabbed him.
No need to worry about that… because the Pirates have Heineman now.
One question remains: does he get rave reviews?
Yep, but not as much as a certain MLBTR legend 😉
Ok Jays..what do you need from the Padres for Kirk? Would Darvish, Nola, and one of Stammen, Suarez, Garcia do the trick?
At his salary and injury history, Darvish moves the needle in the wrong direction. Nola is useless to the Blue Jays. Stammen, Suarez and Garcia would have value for the Jays — I’d give you Jansen for two of those three plus a middling prospect if you promise not to include Darvish or Nola — and I’ll throw in Julian Merryweather if you want him for some reason. Need a lot more for Kirk.
Lmao! Darvish moves the needle in the wrong direction? That’s ridiculous. He’s missed maybe 6 starts in the last 3 years and would immediately slot in as the Jay’s number 3 starter, with 2 years of control.
2 years of control is the last thing anyone wants on a high priced pitcher about to turn 36, so again that moves the needle in the wrong direction. Darvish had an ERA+ of 93 last year, 107 early this year… if you get lucky, he’s average for you this year and below average the next two years. Please do explain to me how that’s better than Gausman, Manoah or Berrios. I’ll grant you he’s as good as Ross Stripling and better than a declining injured Ryu. If the Padres take Ryu in trade to somewhat offset salary, then Darvish could be included.
Berrios?
I would offer that this should mostly end the rotating DH concept of Vlad and the OF and drastically cuts the AB’s for Tapia. Vlad and the 3 capable OF will be in the field for 95% of their playing time with Tapia (or likely a better defensive OF) providing occasional rest and injury protection. Vlad, Hernandez and Collins (?), have combined for 35+ appearances as the DH. These appearances should mostly shuffle to Kirk whenever Jansen is healthy.
Having a wealth of C talent is a luxury and doesn’t create an issue – especially when Kirk is a top tier offensive DH or C (1100 OPs in the last month).
This is true, people are so concerned with having 3 catchers, but when you have possibly 2(one for sure in kirk) that justifies DH AB’s it’s not a problem
Zack Collins is awful, Gabe Moreno has to be a former s/s, small but very athletic, he looks like the real deal, but I thought Joey Bart and Kelenic we’re great also.
Nothing ruins a prospects trade value like facing major league pitching … been basically a singles hitter since Aaa. I wonder how low pop in bat will translate in the majors. ? I also suspect jays feel Jansen will be out longer than originally thought. Gets injured a lot doesn’t he ? Even though I don’t agree w callup I trust the process. Good management
You never know what’s being discussed with other teams. Could be Moreno is discussed and potential trade partner wouldve liked to see him showcased for a few games at Mlb level.
Opportunity arises with injury to Dano.
Let him rake against tigers and Os , trade him for max value , before he he ends up at .130 like Adley and Bart. Lol
In the offseason I’d seen him as a potential trade target for the Sox and suggested something build around Nicky Pivetta. I saw him as someone to succeed Vasquez, if not this year within the next few, and an upgrade on Plawecki.
Even though people at that time thought Pivetta wouldn’t be enough I think now that’s reversed a little bit and a trade around Pivetta would need a bit more than a guy whose power has slipped quite a bit as he gets closer to major league pitching. I think Pivetta for the young catcher, with the Toronto club putting in perhaps a reliever like Cimber, makes a reasonable overall deal.
Lol boy you’ve lost your mind.
I don’t overrate prospects but the idea that you think NP is worth anywhere close to GM is mind boggling.
Too light of a return for Pivetta, probably should include Vlad as well.
I had Guerrero in my fantasy league. I had the impression he didn’t do well with the transition from playing in minor league parks as recently as last year, to the big league park.
On a serious note, PIvetta’s on course for a 4 bWar season. I don’t know if or when that’ll ever be said about Moreno.