TORONTO – A day-game-after-night for the Toronto Blue Jays, facing lefty Christopher Sanchez, landed Alejandro Kirk an afternoon as the designated hitter, a brief respite for a catcher who’s been especially busy after Danny Jansen was traded July 27.
In the 35 games since that deal, Kirk’s been behind the plate in 26 of them, logging 206.1 innings, while also serving as DH on three occasions, including Wednesday’s 4-2 loss to the Philadelphia Phillies. That total would probably be even higher if he hadn’t missed a couple games after being hit by a pitch on the left elbow July 30.
Carrying such a heavy load isn’t new for the 25-year-old, who in recent seasons has been leaned on to cover Jansen injury absences, a 27-game September last year among them. But now that he’s the club’s primary backstop, without an obvious partner in the farm system coming up behind him, his work now is especially important for the Blue Jays, who must decide this winter how to complement him.
Brian Serven, the backup since Jansen’s departure, is a pre-arbitration player with an option remaining, so he can certainly factor into the mix. But if something were to happen to Kirk, there’s precious little depth to cover a pivotal position, which means adding a catcher will need to be on the club’s off-season to-do list.
What type of partner Kirk needs is an interesting question. Last year, Kirk logged a career high 775 innings in 99 games, 84 of them starts, while this season, he’s at 644 in 78 games, all but three starts, and counting. If the Blue Jays want to keep him in that range, then they’ll ideally need a backup capable of contributing at least some offence, but if they want to push him to 100-plus games, it changes how they shop.
Jansen figures to be the best two-way catcher in a relatively thin free-agent class but he may want a more primary role than reconstituting the partnership he and Kirk formed the past 4½ seasons. There’s also balancing the team’s various spending needs to consider, which means the more work Kirk can handle, the easier the Blue Jays’ decision becomes.
Defensively, Kirk rates in elite territory, ranking in the 93rd percentile for both pitch framing and caught stealing above average, while sitting in the 83rd percentile for blocks above average.
How extra work might affect his offence is another question as his bat hasn’t returned to his all-star 2022 season levels, when he posted a .786 OPS. Last year he dipped to .692 while this season he’s at .662 after following Vladimir Guerrero Jr.’s RBI double in the first inning with an RBI double of his own that gave the Blue Jays a short-lived 2-1 lead.
Of note is that since July 27, when Jansen was traded, he’s batting .286 with three homers, five doubles and 19 RBIs, and if he can perform at that level at the plate, the Blue Jays would be in a good spot behind the plate.
Bowden Francis allowed three runs over six innings of work Wednesday, surrendering a solo shot to Kyle Schwarber on his second pitch of the game and a two-run homer to Kody Clemens in the second inning before keeping the Phillies under wraps the next four innings before a Rogers Centre crowd of 23,768.