The Blue Jays announced Tuesday that they’ve signed catcher Alejandro Kirk to a five-year extension covering the 2026-30 seasons. He’ll reportedly be guaranteed $58MM on the deal. Kirk was already signed for the current season at $4.6MM. The new contract buys out his final season of arbitration and four free-agent seasons. Kirk is represented by Vayner Sports.
Kirk, 26, is entering the first season of his career where he’ll be the uncontested primary catcher for the Blue Jays after years of sharing time with some combination of Reese McGuire, Gabriel Moreno, and Danny Jansen.
Signed out of Tijuana, Mexico in international free agency, Kirk made his pro debut back in 2017 and reached the majors in time for a nine-game cup of coffee in 2020 that was then expanded to a 60-game stint as the club’s third catcher behind McGuire and Jansen. He hit a robust .259/.336/.455 in 214 trips to the plate across those 69 games before finally earning a more regular role with the club in 2022.
He made the most of the opportunity, delivering an All-Star campaign and winning a Silver Slugger award behind the plate. In 541 trips to the plate that year, Kirk slashed an incredible .285/.372/.415 with a wRC+ of 129. In conjunction with his elite framing and blocking abilities, Kirk managed to post an excellent 4.3 fWAR that tied with Will Smith for the fourth-highest figure of any catcher that season. The sensational performance seemed to solidify Kirk’s status as the club’s catcher of the future, and helped prompt them to trade top prospect Gabriel Moreno to the Diamondbacks alongside Lourdes Gurriel Jr. in exchange for an elite defensive outfielder in Daulton Varsho.
Unfortunately, things haven’t quite gone according to plan in that regard. Kirk’s put up relatively pedestrian numbers at the plate over the past two seasons, slashing just .251/.327/.358 with a 95 wRC+. That’s certainly not bad for a catcher, and Kirk’s elite defensive numbers have allowed him to remain a two-to-three win player even as he’s taken a step back offensively. With that solid floor established and the tantalizing upside of his 2022 season still at least theoretically in reach, the Blue Jays have opted to pounce on the opportunity to lock Kirk up long-term. In doing so, they’ve given Kirk a deal that slightly eclipses the one Royals catcher Salvador Perez signed prior to the 2016 season, which guaranteed him $52.5MM.
Besides Perez, the only other extension signed within the past decade by a catcher with between four and five years of MLB service that came with a guarantee of even $5MM was that of Smith with the Dodgers last year, which guaranteed Smith $131.45MM in new money over nine years. That’s a significantly higher sum than Kirk received, although it should be noted that Smith signed for nearly twice as long as Kirk and the deferred money in the deal reduced the net present value of the deal to around $114.5MM after factoring in the money Smith was already owed for last season. Given their similarly high ceilings, it’s not necessarily a surprise that Kirk’s $11.6MM AAV is in the same ballpark as the approximately $12.25 AAV Smith received on his deal last season even as Kirk’s volatility in recent years compared to Smith’s more steadfast production led Kirk’s deal to be capped at just five seasons. That shortened term also provides Kirk the flexibility to potentially get a bite at the free agent apple later in his career that could prove quite lucrative if he manages to rediscover the offensive form he flashed in 2022 over the next few seasons.
For now, however, the Blue Jays have locked Kirk up as a fixture of the franchise for the rest of the decade, a roll he’ll share with offseason additions Andres Gimenez and Anthony Santander. The move keeps a homegrown talent in the fold long-term, offering some much-needed continuity for the organization ahead of a 2025 season that could be the last one both Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Bo Bichette spend in Toronto. Kirk’s strong work behind the plate should continue to benefit Jays pitchers, both veterans like Jose Berrios and Kevin Gausman as well as youngsters like Bowden Francis and Jake Bloss, for years to come, and if he can recapture his offensive form from 2022 he’d be a rare two-way catcher who can double as a defensive stalwart and middle-of-the-order bat.
Fansided’s Robert Murray first reported the agreement and the terms. Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic added additional financial details.
Wow big gamble
this doesnt seem like that big of a gamble. Taking on $15M of Straw for nothing is a gamble.
A little surprising since he has been a 93 OPS+ bat the past two years.
I would imagine they expect the bat to bounce back otherwise it doesn’t make a ton of sense to give that kind of player 5/58m.
He is really good defensively and I think he is better than 93 OPS+ personally most years, he had a really bad year last year. But decent catchers are tough to find so, its not like he is a corner outfield batting around 93 OPS+…..(Springer I am looking at you)
as a side note, just worth noting for folks that the average OPS+/wRC+ for catchers is usually around 90 for the league. i imagine it’s higher if you just account for C1’s, but a 93 OPS+ would be considered “above average” relative to the position
Which is slightly above middle of the pack vs other catchers.
There is zero reason to think that OPS+ as a stand alone stat can quantify a catchers value, thats like only using DRS for 1B
I think the bat bounces back if they take him out of the middle of the order. Kirk has more AB’s hitting 3 through 6 than any other spots. Put him in the 8th spot and his numbers probably improve
In the long-term, they have solidified a captain on the field with great defense which I’d imagine would be more attractive to free agent pitchers.
Kirk is 17th in hitting the past 2 seasons among catchers with at least 500 PA.
fangraphs.com/leaders/major-league?lg=all&ind…
On the defensive side he gets much better numbers, which is why his fWAR is 8th and his bWAR is 11th among catchers over the last 2 seasons.
That link ranking him 17th is at the 550 PA threshold over the past two years. Reduce it 500 PA’s and he falls to 23rd by offense amongst fellow catchers.
fangraphs.com/leaders/major-league?stats=bat&…
I just find it odd considering its been consecutive disappointing offensive seasons. Usually teams aren’t eager to lock up people in that position.
I see the difference. I had positional split AS a catcher, not catcher as primary position.
I also had 550 PA for some reason.
As a catcher the rankings dont change from 500-500 PA
And if you move it to 700 he’s up to 13th, what’s your point?
Also on your list if you rank by WAR he’s 9th, you are literally picking one data point to make an argument and ignoring all other, more valuable data.
Kirk is going to be making platoon player type money for being an above average starting catcher (when you don’t ignore defense). There’s nothing odd about a team jumping on a good deal while it’s available. If he has a good year with the bat his price could double or triple.
FWIW Jansen and Moreno are ahead of Kirk ranking 14th and 16th while Kirk is 23rd. Jays can develop some catchers.
A portly gamble perhaps.
5/58 seems like a relatively small gamble.
Yeah, he’s being paid like the best backup catcher. Not a gamble at all.
Not really. Two of those 5 years are control years. I’d guess that the 3 remaining years look like $14M each. It’s probably still good, but certainly not BUC money.
Consider how much the Braves paid TdA and apply the time value of money. Or don’t and just trust me, my math checks out.
What about Captain Vlad now? Smh
They extended the wrong guy
“Wrong guy”…I know, right. After the season starts, I’m not talking contract. If the Jays want me long term, they’d better extend me now.
@mlb fan- The season started already? The point is the Jays should of extended Vlad lst. Is Kirk a franchise player all of a sudden? Thinking not. Who is better on the Jays right now then Vladdy? I’m listening.
$600M/15? That’s Judge money, and Judge is a lot better. I mean, if Vlad is worth $600M, then what is Tucker worth?
@JoeBrady-I never said Vlad is worth $600 million, but he is definitely worth $480-500 million though. He should get at least $40 million annually on the open market. He’s only 28 years young also. It’s not like he’s 31 or 32 either. Somebody will definitely pay him that, if not now then in the off-season.
They weren’t able to sign Vlad or at least not yet. That doesn’t mean you stop signing anyone else. This money doesn’t have an effect on any theoretical money for Vlad.
There was no right guy to extend, then.
The Jays aren’t a franchise capable of surviving 5 to 7 years at $40m per in the all too good chance that Jr. is largely done at 30.
He’s a 4-win, BAD 1Bman with a terrible body type who wants to be paid as if the only seasons that exist are his 2021 and 2024.
Since no one’s paying him anything close to even $400m based on his current record, the Jays might as well wait, see if he can put up another 6 win season, then offer the significant overpay they’re already moving toward even in the absence of that season.
Dude, you can’t assume Vlad is done at 30. Yes Prince Fielder happened but so did David Ortiz. I wouldn’t expect a lot after 35 or 36, but 10 years for a 70 hitter with 70 power is totally justifiable for a 26 year old free agent.
You don’t pay DHs 40 million. The redsox pretty much went year to year with Ortiz from 35 to end of his career.
I don’t think he has 70 power. He is #20 in HRs over the past three years.
And you are skipping a lot of years in between age 30 and age 35. My guess is that you will get 4 years of steady decline, followed by a more rapid decline. Right now, he looks like a 30-HR, .290 type of hitter. Certainly very good, but I’d never commit 15 years to the guy.
2024 Vlad sure seemed to have 70 grade Power:
xSLG – 98th percentile
Avg exit Velocity- 98th percentile
Hard Hit % – 97th percentile
baseballsavant.mlb.com/savant-player/vladimir-guer…
With 30-HR power.
I feel like your going down the path that since Barry Bonds only led the league in homeruns twice over his 22 year playing career he wasn’t that great of a power hitter.
If you were putting together a list of the ballplayers that had the best shot of hitting 200 homeruns over the next 5 years I think Vlad easily makes the top 10 most likeliest and probably top 5.
I think I’d slot him 4th most likely behind Ohtani, Judge and Soto. While in front of Alvarez, Devers, Witt, Gunner, Tatis & Elly.
@MR. Q- They certainly did!
Good move for both parties.
I like this one. Seems fair.
It does. Fg’s fWAR is also more comprehensive for catchers and it likes Kirk more than bWAR does.
The Jays should be doing a lot of this (not including V jr).
58 million for a catcher that’s going to be bad offensively is a lot (maybe if he cleans out the buffet more he could hit some more homers)
Whats not fair is Will smith gets a 14 aav while Kirk gets close to 12 aav
Catcher careers tend to be quite short. Will Smith is getting paid for a lot of years that he’s statistically unlikely to healthy or good.
$12M/yr is an excellent price on a medium term contract for an average hitter who’s an elite defender… if he can stay healthy. Health is the only thing that can make this a bad signing, and always a concern for a catcher. On the other hand, there’s a lot of upside because if he hits it becomes a steal.
ABS could also be a factor that makes Kirk less valuable, we’ll see.
Smith gets $12.2m AAV for his age 29-38 seasons. Kirk gets his for his age 27-31 seasons. There’s quite a difference there if you look beyond the AAV. Smith is getting twice the overall money with a good percentage of the deal beyond his prime ages. If the Dodgers only wanted to pay him through age 33 (5 years like Kirk’s deal) that AAV would have been a whole lot higher. Catching is hard to quantify but by the metrics Smith has been pretty bad whereas Kirk is excellent. Smith can really hit for a catcher though. For any position really. Apples to oranges as a comparison really.
The Jays get Kirk in his prime years only and bought out the correct number of free agent years. Personally, i don’t really care if Kirk is being overpaid a little… he seems to be really durable, which has to be worth something. Both Jansen and Moreno have hit the IL multiple times the past couple years while Kirk has been relatively healthy.
The Dodgers get Smith for his prime years also, and he’ll put up great offensive numbers for a catcher (plus he’s clutch, which you can’t quantify); but the Dodgers are also paying Smith a bunch of post-prime years with a high AAV. The Smith deal will be awful at the end, while the Kirk deal seems to be ideal for both sides.
Don’t worry about those stats nerds. If a player hits or performs better than other players in pressure situations they can be called clutch. Whether it is by luck or skill it doesn’t matter.
Not really, have been good Defensive Catcher can hit for average with a little power + he’s young enough” they be alright
James T Kirk turned 95 today.
* 94
And hasn’t slowed down.
Blujays have to spend money on someone since Vlad isn’t taking it and leaving
Haven’t seen that article, do you have a link to it for me?
captain better
Man, in a few years, the Blue Jays will have a hell of a backstop. They’re gonna have globs of fat at first and at catcher!
Since you’re a Mariners fan, would you trade your catcher and first baseman for the globs of fat. Never mind the M’s aren’t going to extend Raleigh anyway.
People who rush to comment boards to comment about a professional athletes body are weird, sad people
Or the grammar police who must feel smart. Sorry most English majors are not the highest grossing
Thank you Dusty…I am so tired of hearing the “body type” argument which has no validity. People forget about guys like David Wells, Roger Clemens, Ken Camenitti, David Ortiz, Brian McCann and even Johnny Bench at one point were all “portly” guys. Don’t remember them spending major amounts of time on the DL…however there are plenty of Stanton, Springer, Trout body types that spend ample time on the DL.
C.C. Sabathia too. And Bartolo Colon…the list goes on.
Sad fan my cousin! Also watch out if manoah rebounds and Santander eats too many taters…
Don’t sleep on springer and varsho but they aren’t globs yet
Whenever I feel bad about how crappy the jays are at least I can always feel better that the mariners exist.
The orioles are spending more them this year, how pathetic
I adore Kirk, no better feeling than watching him leg out a double.
Or that triple he had last season!
he’s got that jog nailed down, y’know?
I wonder what the Mariners are going to do with Cal Raleigh. Extend him or let him walk with Harry Ford coming up pretty nicely behind him. Hmmmm. A quandary wrapped inside an enigma slathered in paradox.
Make him an offer yesterday, I hope. And cut down his workload.
Raleigh and Ford seems like a great situation to be in. I’d have thought they’d have pushed to extend Raleigh and used Ford as a headliner for a considerable trade to upgrade the roster. It was an oddly quiet trade front in Seattle given they are in a good position to contend if they added a bit of offense and didn’t have a lot of budget to work with. Especially with a farm system that has several guys who could headline a trade.
Cal won a GG last year on top of 34 dingers and 100 RBIs.
DH and mediocre cleanup hitter into his 30s
Contract ends after his age 30 season so even if that’s true the Jays won’t be the one’s paying for it
DH LOL his bat isn’t good enough to DH.
Kirk DH’s 84 times in a little over 400 games. Not terrible. Vlad should get the majority of DH, but to get Kirk into the lineup while giving him some defensive rest… it works.
The days of catchers catching 100+ games is pretty much over. Only 5 catchers started 100+ games last year at catcher. 6 the year before that. 3 in 2022.
This is really a smart move by the Jays. Kirk’s defense is also top-tier, so if he can even somewhat bounce back offensively, his overall value will far exceed his salary. The shorter deal, which ends when he’s 31, means the Jays won’t have to pay him for years when he might start declining. This short-term bet gives them more value for their money, especially since they can still cash in on his value when he’s older and hits free agency.
And Kirk gets financial security so both sides win.
His defense is good now, but will it still be in a few more years?
Kirk’s body type doesn’t seem like the kind that will age well and catchers often start to break down early even when they aren’t 5’8 and almost 250 pounds.
He’s 25 man and it’s a 5 year deal.
He’s 26 and it doesn’t include 2025, so he’s under contract through the end of his age 31 season. Matt Wieters was pretty much toast by age 30 and he was better than Kirk is likely to ever be and he was also in much better shape than Kirk is.
Catchers tend to break down much quicker than, say, right fielders, and being extremely overweight probably isn’t going to help Kirk’s defense age gracefully, and that is where basically all of his value comes from.
Actually, his body type does have a history of aging well at this position. Think Molina brothers, Pudge.
Wish my Os would lean in this direction instead of taller Rutschman and Basallo body types. Any Creed Willems sightings down there in Sarasota?
None of the Molina bros were 5’8 and 250 pounds, and neither was Ivan Rodriguez.
So who with an injury history that was 5’8 250 are you comparing him to ?
Hey KFlock. Hope all is well. I’m pretty sure the Molina brothers stood at 6′ and under as did Pudge. And except for Pudge, they all had some weight to them. Bottom line: a much different body type than the likes of Basallo, Rutschman, Weiters … IE lower to earth.
Catching is primarily a position responsible for working with the pitching staff and playing defense. Hitting doesn’t matter much.
Two years ago the Jays had 3 Catchers that people posting here raved about. Two were traded. All 3 are decent ML catchers. That’s not a putdown, as it’s the most difficult physical and mental as well as the most responsible position to play on a ML team. That said, I don’t think any of the 3 are upper echelon ML catchers….middling at best.
Typical Jays, they continue to overpay veteran players that aren’t going to get them to be serious playoffs contenders more than once every 4-5 years…..and that will depend on other teams having major issues with players being injured, having poor seasons, etc.
To add……
The Rays (like the Brewers) have a track record of acquiring veteran catchers and reworking them, making them more productive than they’ve ever been at a reasonable salary. If healthy, I expect Danny Jansen will have a very good season in 2025.
@Samuel
Yes, I’m expecting he will perform very well this year. It’s the perfect place for him to develop himself.
Unless Kevin Cash strips down Jansen’s catching game he will still be a well below average defender, and most teams would rather a better defender over pure hitter. They may ask him to move off the position IF he is hitting as well as you expect.
You can say that the last four years about Jansen, the caveat is the health part.
Except, it isn’t an overpay. What do you suggest they do? Let Kirk walk next year, with no catcher lined up to replace him?
I don’t think Alejandro was the name Jays fans were hoping to hear was extended.
@outinleftfield
It’s the smart move to extend. The other guy named Vlad needs to be traded. That deal will not age well…
OY, I agree. I just know that Jays fans are hoping to hear that Vlad Jr signed an extension. I also agree that a 14 year deal for an overweight 1B/DH type will not age well. We have seen that happen on deals for that type of player over and over again throughout the years.
They want to give him 8, he wants 14. Split the difference
Give him 11 years 450 million and if he doesnt sign it, look to trade him
THIS is generous for a guy who could age very poorly and has only had 2 elite seasons
It;s funny, I guess I thought Kirk was better than he was, as I didn’t understand why he was still a timeshare, but wow, looking at the 2023/2024 numbers of him and Jansen, Kirk really didn’t stand out as much as I thought he would have.
They signed Kirk, now the search is on for their Spock
The search for Spock, sounds like a movie title.
Milli Vanilli, sounds madeup
The Jays honestly had no choice but to extend Kirk. They literally don’t have anyone else to step into the spot.
Could have had gabby moreno
Moreno was awwright, irritating on long bus rides tho, always nattering on about something or other, often would just talk himself to sleep when noone could keep up, like Ray Liotta at the end of Goodfellas, guess you could say Moreno had the gift of gab
Name me a better fielding trio up the middle than Kirk-Gimenez-Varsho!
Belanger-Grich-Blair
Cecil-Prince-Fielder (Cecil so large counts as 2)
Wow, good deal for him
Isn’t most of his defensive value in pitch framing? A soon to be obsolete skill.
Getting a great big 2 pitch challenges per game isn’t going to make framing obsolete.
Not only that, but he’s shown to really know the zone and been really good at the challenges this spring.
Not obsolete he’s welcome to stop by and help align some vintage posters from the 80s that need framing always could help from someone with a good eye for that stuff, to the right, little higher, no lower, ease a bit to the left, hold it still, no back right again
The Reds could have Stephenson for this rather than extend a 30 plus backup and hope a 19 year old is the real deal and stays away from the all you can eat buffets.
Good foundation player not a bad move. Catchers are a premium right now.
When he hits free agency he can be one of those defense first older catchers… Erik Katz… Higashioki… Maldonado… McCann… Keeps him in the game until he’s almost 40 if he wants.
Even if he doesn’t get back to 2022 offensive numbers, if he continues to provide good defence and at least solid at the plate, the contract doesn’t look too bad. His OBP is pretty decent, and his K to BB ratio is nearly even for his career. I know those aren’t the sexy numbers people look at nowadays, but it does show value at the dish.
Samwich yum
Horrible. 5 years from now he’s gonna be old and broken down. That’s 50 mil that could have and should have been put towards re signing Vladdy. Kirk isn’t gonna age well, he’s got too much weight on to be a decent catcher for the next 5 years. He’s gonna have knee and hamstring issues and he’ll never hit enough to be a DH option. This organization is lost.
That’s a lot of opinions but no facts.
I haven’t seen him this year. Is he in any better condition?
The risk is more to do with his lack of conditioning. Players with his physique historically decline instantly.
“We’re not selling jeans”
Smartest move they made so far this off season.
They also announced that he is now Team Captain.
So just call him………………………………………………………………………
CAPTAIN KIRK !!
The extension all blujay fans have been desperately praying for!
If the Jays are comfortable and like him then why not?
Add another notch in the belt