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Alejandro Kirk sparks Blue Jays’ bats in return from IL versus Yankees
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Photo credit: Nick Turchiaro-Imagn Images
Thomas Hall
Jun 13, 2026, 00:00 EDTUpdated: Jun 13, 2026, 00:24 EDT
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TORONTO — Welcome back, Alejandro Kirk. Boy, did the Blue Jays ever miss you.
In the two-plus months without their All-Star catcher, this lineup didn’t feel the same. Nor did it look anywhere near the same. But with the New York Yankees visiting Rogers Centre on Friday, kicking off a pivotal three-game series between these AL East rivals, a sense of normalcy returned.
El capitán was officially back.
Kirk returned to action for the first time since April 3, the game in which a foul ball fractured his left thumb against the Chicago White Sox, and his return was felt throughout the ballpark — in many different facets.
“He’s one of one, man,” manager John Schneider said of Kirk. “It’s great to have him back for a variety of reasons.”
Everything started with Trey Yesavage’s first pitch of the game: a 94.8 m.p.h. fastball to Yankees outfielder Trent Grisham, which was originally called a ball by home-plate umpire John Tumpane — until Kirk tapped his catcher’s mask to initiate an ABS challenge. Upon review, the pitch actually nicked outside part of the strike zone, overturning the call to strike one.
It was almost like Kirk had never missed any time at all. He’s as steady as they come, and as reliable, too, when it comes to knowing when to fire off an aggressive ABS challenge — even to the first batter of the contest.
“I was happy about it because I thought it was a strike,” said Trey Yesavage, who was late to realize that Kirk challenged the pitch. “I turned around, and I heard the umpire on the speaker, but I’m glad he challenged it.”
You couldn’t have drawn up a more appropriate way to mark the beginning of Kirk’s injury return. It set the tone for one of the sport’s best, all-around backstops — who ranked in the 98th percentile in Baseball Savant’s framing runs metric last season with 17. And this was only the tip of the iceberg. He also supplied a three-hit performance — matching his entire hit total from this year prior to landing on the IL — and also added a walk as part of this 8-5 victory.
Before the game, Schneider spoke about how Kirk’s return could have a “domino effect” on the rest of Toronto’s lineup, and the club’s rally in the bottom of the first was precisely that. Kirk doubled home Ernie Clement to open the scoring, setting the table for Kazuma Okamoto’s behemoth of a two-run blast to make it 3-0.
The 27-year-old backstop had his handprints all over this one. After producing a single in his second at-bat, a 105.8-m.p.h. liner that would’ve resulted in his second double if not for its exploding exit velocity, he scored Vladimir Guerrero Jr. from second on a bloop single into right-centre for his second RBI of the contest.
“Felt pretty good, very emotional after [being injured] for a couple of months,” Kirk said of his return via translator Hector Lebron.
There was a massive buzz around Rogers Centre leading up to first pitch. Part of that, of course, was because they were playing the Yankees for the first time in Toronto since last fall’s ALDS. But the home crowd was also thrilled about Kirk’s return.
As he took the field for pre-game warm-ups, fans cheered. As his name was introduced as part of the Blue Jays’ starting lineup, fans cheered again. Then, as he stepped into the batter’s box for his first AB, you could hear a loud applause roar through the stadium when his name was announced on the PA system.
Oh, and after he laced his first of three hits into the outfield in that same inning, the cheers grew even louder.
“I hear everything. Every single thing I hear — the fans, they always treat me great here,” Kirk said. “I love the fans here. But at the same time, I was just trying to stay focused on the game. But it was beautiful of the fans to acknowledge [my return].”
Of course, Kirk’s return came on the heels of Tyler Heineman’s removal from both the active and 40-man rosters, as he was designated for assignment a few hours before the game. It’s a tough remainder of the business side of baseball.
As someone who’s been through this thing before, having bounced around across the sport in his seven major-league seasons, this wasn’t anything new for Heineman. Schneider said he took the news like a professional, but it’s still a disappointing ending to a place where he had found some much-needed “stability” for the first time in his career.
The 34-year-old journeyman backup enjoyed a career year in 2025, accounting for 2.1 fWAR across 64 games — the most he’s played in a single big-league season. But those same results hadn’t been there to begin his ’26 campaign, and with the emergence of rookie Brandon Valenzuela, he had seen his playing time decline significantly.
As Kirk neared his return, Heineman saw where this was likely headed. He knew he’d probably end up as the odd man out, ultimately landing on waivers. There’s a strong chance he’s either claimed or traded to another organization. But in the slight chance that neither of those comes to pass, the early sense is that he’d forgo electing free agency — as is his right after having already been outrighted to the minors previously in his career — and head to Triple-A Buffalo as additional catching depth.
“He was great last year,” the Blue Jays’ skipper said pre-game. “We all love him. He’s one of my favourite guys. The guys love him in there [the clubhouse], but he understands the business part of it.”
As for Toronto’s newly paired catching tandem, the current plan is to ease Kirk back into a regular workload. They don’t want to put too much on his plate too fast. So, that should open the door for Valenzuela to continue receiving sufficient playing time behind the dish moving forward.
There’s also a scenario that the team is kicking around about having both in the starting lineup occasionally, one starting at catcher and the other as the DH. It’s a method we’ve seen them use before, but not since Danny Jansen’s time with the franchise.
Still, it offered the best of both worlds. And if Valenzuela continues to hit as well as he has, the Blue Jays may have found their next great catching duo — both of the present and the future.

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