Blue Jays catcher Danny Jansen suffered a fracture near his left pinky finger, general manager Ross Atkins told reporters (including Keegan Matheson of MLB.com). He’s headed to the 10-day injured list, although Atkins indicated the recovery timeline is expected to be on the shorter side for a fracture. Fellow backstop Zack Collins is being recalled from Triple-A Buffalo in a corresponding move.
It’s the second IL stint of the season for Jansen, who also missed more than a month after straining his oblique. He’s only appeared in 19 games as a result, but the righty-hitting backstop has made a massive power impact when healthy. Through 62 trips to the plate, Jansen has blasted seven home runs. That’s been more than enough to offset a pedestrian .232 batting average and .290 on-base percentage, and he’s now hit 12 homers in 125 plate appearances dating back to last September.
Losing Jansen while he’s hitting this well will be an obvious disappointment, but the Jays are as well-equipped as any club to handle a hit to their catching corps. Alejandro Kirk has been pressed primarily into a designated hitter role with Jansen around, but he’s capable of sliding back behind the plate in the latter’s absence. Kirk isn’t regarded as a great defender, but he’s among the best offensive options at the position leaguewide. The 23-year-old is hitting an excellent .306/.389/.465 through 47 games this season.
Collins, acquired from the White Sox in a one-for-one swap with Reese McGuire, offers a power-hitting depth option behind Kirk. The Jays also have one of the game’s top prospects, Gabriel Moreno, knocking on the doorstep of the majors. The 22-year-old is hitting .323/.377/.406 through 146 plate appearances in Buffalo. The Jays have opted to roll with the more experienced tandem of Kirk and Collins for the moment, but Moreno figures to force his way onto the scene before too long if he continues to perform at that level.
Heard he and his old pal Reese were having a brouhaha in a parking lot in Dunedin for old time’s sake… Say it ain’t so!!!
Happy birthday to Prince. One of, if not the best musicians of all time.
Not sure what this has to do with Danny Jansen but yeah, Prince is cool.
Canada
Disregard my comment I’m tired and stupid
Canada
Danny Jansen is from Elmhurst, IL. Prince’s plane made an emergency landing and the singer was hospitalized in Moline, IL just five days before his death.
Elmhurst is just 135 miles from Moline. Danny Jansen wears #9. If you divide 135 (miles) by 9 (Jansen’s number) you have fifteen. Danny Jansen weighs 215 pounds. See the connection?
It’s 152 miles from Elmhurst to Moline.
Not by tank it isn’t
A 8.5 mile long tank?
Oh that’s just great! FML
Your right that is great!! Now pitchers will get deeper into games without Jansen and his poor game calling behind the plate. Think I am wrong go look it up. Jansen gets less innings out of starters than the other catchers. Actually Jansen is a terrible catcher. He ranks near the bottom in most defensive catagories. Of course listening to the Roger’s media group you would think he is Johnny Bench but stats say he is closer to Sitonthe Bench.
Moreno not being up yet is a crime
Before the latest injury, I agreed with keeping Moreno in AAA. But now it’s a crime. What if the division is lost by a couple of games which are filled with Collins strikeouts? I’m not saying it’s a sure thing Moreno will immediately hit great, but he has a chance to and Collins doesn’t.
Moreno has a high likelihood of being fine defensively behind the plate too. Collins isn’t good back there. And he’s not really much more familiar with the pitching staff than Moreno is.
With most position players I agree with the “bring them up when they are ready to be up for good “ approach. But with catchers there’s so much they can learn by being around the big league routines for a couple of weeks.