Blue Jays catcher Alejandro Kirk will undergo surgery on his broken left thumb, manager John Schneider told reporters (including Rob Longley of The Toronto Sun). Schneider said the return timetable is dependent on whether doctors will need to insert a pin in Kirk’s thumb, which won’t be known until the operation is underway.
In any case, it’ll be more than a minimal 10-day injured list stint. The manager loosely floated a potential 3-4 week or 4-6 week recovery range depending on the procedure. It seems safe to rule Kirk out into May. The two-time All-Star was injured on Friday when he was struck by a foul tip.
A glove hand injury could obviously be problematic for a catcher. The Jays have used George Springer as a full-time designated hitter this year. Even if Kirk’s bat proves ahead of his glove in the recovery process, the Jays probably won’t activate him until he’s ready for regular work behind the plate.
Tyler Heineman and rookie Brandon Valenzuela are handling the catching duties until Kirk returns. Heineman did a nice job in the backup role a year ago, hitting .289/.361/.416 with strong receiving grades over 64 games. He entered tonight’s game with a 4-10 start to the season offensively, but he had a few ill-timed miscues in the immediate aftermath of Kirk’s injury.
Heineman had a throwing error to allow the tying run to score with two outs in the tenth inning of an eventual loss to the White Sox on Friday. He had a baserunning gaffe and another throwing error that cost two runs in a 6-3 loss on Saturday. The Jays turned to Valenzuela for his MLB debut in the series finale, usual practice for a Sunday matinee. Heineman is back behind the plate tonight for the start of a World Series rematch against the Dodgers.
Bummer. Hope he’s back soon.
Perhaps back in time to face your Yankees.
I kid, I kid lol
Acoss – In your honest opinion, which team is worse right now …. Jays or Red Sox?
Red Sox have the worst record, but Jays lost 5 of 6 against the Rockies & ChiSox.
Caught the game on Easter Sunday at Fenway. Got some great cheap homeplate seats because of the rain. The highlight was the fried dough I got!
YBC – Yes!! Last time I was at Fenway I had to walk around 3/4 of the park to find the fried dough, but it was well worth the walk. I don’t get why it’s not as popular anymore.
Please tell me you’re a sauce guy and not a sugar guy. LOL
I didn’t know where the stand was. (Behind RF) I asked a girl who was gnawing away on hers. Yes, I asked for the sauce! Lol.
Backstops always taking a beating
Barger probably to the 10 day il and mad max who knows. This is becoming the season from hell awfully quick
Jays were a nice flash in the pan
@Nick Baratta
The flash was the pixie dust.
Jays are getting hammered with injuries holy
Who are you to doubt El Dandy?
Sad thing is they will blame injuries for their bad record but the reality is they are just bad right now even without the injuries.
When was the last time any team blamed all their failures on injuries?
Fans and sometimes media do that, but players generally own up to their poor play.
Springer
25 million dollar a year DH
Hitting 158
In 9 games.
Pretty sure that 25 mil wasn’t just for the first nine games.
He won’t live up to the requirements of a top DH
Like Schwarber
Three straight years over 100 RBI