The Toronto Blue Jays made a flurry of roster moves on Friday before their series opener against the New York Yankees. Catcher Alejandro Kirk has been reinstated from the 60-day injured list and will bat fourth during Friday night’s contest. Kirk has been on the IL since April 4 after fracturing his left thumb on a foul tip the day before during a 5-4 loss against the Chicago White Sox.
Kirk got into six rehab games over the past two weeks, split evenly between Single-A Dunedin and Triple-A Buffalo. In those six games, Kirk batted .167 with one home run, one RBI, while also drawing three walks. Before going down with the injury, Kirk appeared in five games with the Blue Jays and had gone 3-for-20 with one home run and one RBI. Kirk split his time on his rehab assignment between catcher and designated hitter, and with the success of Brandon Valenzuela, it will be interesting to see how much Blue Jays manager John Schneider opts to use Kirk behind the plate.
When one starter returns, it seems another immediately heads to the IL in 2026. This time, it’s Daulton Varsho who has been placed on the IL with left wrist inflammation. Varsho was removed from last Friday’s contest against the Baltimore Orioles after one at-bat due to left wrist discomfort. The initial X-rays came back negative, and the belief was that Varsho would only end up missing a game or two. However, Varsho ended up missing the past five contests before the Blue Jays were left with no choice but to place the outfielder on the IL.
Through 64 games this season, Varsho is batting .256 with five home runs and 17 RBIs while reaching base at a .331 clip. The absence of Varsho will be felt in the lineup as he has been one of their better players through the club’s first 69 games.
To replace Varsho on the active roster, Davis Schneider was recalled from Buffalo. Schneider will return to the Blue Jays after a rather interesting 14-game stint with the Bisons. In his 14 games, Schneider batted .188 with four RBIs, but was able to work 24 walks, resulting in an astonishing .550 on-base percentage.
Schneider opened the 2026 season with the Blue Jays but struggled mightily across his 38 games. The 27-year-old batted .127 with one home run and eight RBIs, and endured multiple prolonged hitless stretches. With a heavy left-handed skewed outfield, Schneider will get the opportunity to prove he can be more of the hitter he was a season ago, when he batted .234 with 11 home runs.
To make room for Kirk, veteran catcher Tyler Heineman was designated for assignment. After Kirk was injured, Heineman was tasked with taking on the starter role, but as Valenzuela started to find his stride at the dish and behind the plate, coupled with Heineman’s struggles, the Blue Jays weren’t left with much choice but to cut ties with the 34-year-old. Over 33 games, Heineman batted .154 with one home run and six RBIs, failing to replicate the success he flashed in 2025 as Kirk’s backup. Last season, Heineman batted .289 with three home runs and 20 RBIs in what was a career year across nearly every offensive category.
Recently DFA’d reliever Yariel Rodríguez has cleared waivers and been assigned to Triple-A Buffalo. Rodríguez was DFA’d for a second time during his Blue Jays tenure on June 8, after struggling to a 0-1 record, 7.71 ERA and 2.04 WHIP over his 10 outings.
Rodríguez will return to the Bisons, where he previously pitched in 11 games with the club to open the season. In those 11 outings, Rodríguez went 1-0 with a 2.63 ERA and 1.17 WHIP over his 13.2 innings pitched.
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