<p>Up until Juan Soto signed with the Mets late on Sunday night, the free agent market was moving at a glacial pace. Unless you were a catcher or a starting pitcher, those positions were not affected by Soto&#8217;s orbit.</p>
<p>Now there are seven catchers who have signed at the time of writing, with <a href="https://bluejaysnation.com/news/former-blue-jay-danny-jansen-signs-a-one-year-deal-with-the-rays">Danny Jansen&#8217;s one-year deal with the Tampa Bay Rays</a> being the latest catcher to come off the board. The backup catcher was one of the obvious areas for improvement on the Blue Jays roster, and with the options dwindling, one wonders whether Toronto will pursue an upgrade at catching at all.</p>
<p>For the past several years, the Blue Jays enjoyed a surplus of catching depth, or at least a surplus of big league options with Jansen and Alejandro Kirk behind the dish. For the first time since 2019, this team can improve their catching position in the offseason. But will they?</p>
<p>Given the holes all over the roster that need to be filled &#8211; namely third base, left field, second base, and the bullpen &#8211; a backup catcher is one of the last pieces that might fall into place for the Blue Jays this offseason. Then again, maybe they just run back their internal options and see how that pans out.</p>
<h2>Option 1: Roll with Kirk and Heinemann</h2>
<p>2024 was an odd season for Kirk, but on the whole, it was the second-best season of his career. His 2.8 fWAR total was buoyed by his <a href="https://bluejaysnation.com/news/alejandro-kirk-was-once-again-robbed-of-a-gold-glove">outstanding defensive metrics</a> as Kirk led the American League with 17 defensive runs saved and he<a href="https://baseballsavant.mlb.com/savant-player/alejandro-kirk-672386"> ranked</a> fifth in catcher framing runs. In just a few short seasons, Kirk has transformed his game into one of the best defensive catchers across the Major Leagues. I come back to the phrase &#8220;odd&#8221; because he was revered for his supreme bat-to-ball skills as a prospect, and yet now his bat is secondary to his glove.</p>
<p>Unfortunately, Kirk&#8217;s offensive breakout of 2022 looks like an aberration now, as his bat has come back down to earth, now slightly below average. It doesn&#8217;t appear that an offensive breakout is in the cards for Kirk, but the Blue Jays would gladly take his defensive prowess.</p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true">
<p lang="en" dir="ltr">Alejandro Kirk leads MLB catchers in pitch framing runs this year and maybe you can see why (these were all called strikes). <a href="https://t.co/Jhzt5EgSLQ">pic.twitter.com/Jhzt5EgSLQ</a></p>
<p>&mdash; Codify (@CodifyBaseball) <a href="https://twitter.com/CodifyBaseball/status/1781082087166239229?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 18, 2024</a></p></blockquote>
<p><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p>
<p>Tyler Heineman is the left-handed hitting complementary piece to Kirk, and he made his third tour with the Blue Jays down the stretch last year getting into a few games after being claimed off of waivers. Heineman&#8217;s numbers are nothing to write home about, but with Kirk maxing out around the 100 games started mark, the Blue Jays will need a capable backup to pick up the slack.</p>
<p>If the Blue Jays end up sinking their costs into upgrading the lineup or the starting rotation, the catcher spot is one place where they could afford to keep their incumbents and not take too much of a hit offensively.</p>
<h2>Option B: Go outside the organization for a backup catcher</h2>
<p>The catching market in free agency was already thin, and with seven catchers already landing with new teams, the options became that much more limited. Carson Kelly and Yasmani Grandal are the two most attractive options out there, but Kelly may seek a starting role (and is also <a href="https://x.com/JonHeyman/status/1866209539147640855">approaching a deal</a> with the Chicago Cubs).</p>
<p>And with the upper-echelon catchers getting an AAV of $8.5 million, Kelly will be asking for that much more, in the $10 million per season range. It&#8217;s not a tonne of money to spend, but that&#8217;s a lot for someone who might only play 100 games.</p>
<p>Grandal, on the other hand, might make more sense for the Blue Jays. He&#8217;s the veteran with the most catching experience on the market and could be a nice complement to Kirk. Grandal&#8217;s a switch hitter who can still hit for power, and his defensive metrics are still solid.</p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true">
<p lang="en" dir="ltr">The <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Cubs?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Cubs</a> are nearing a deal with free-agent catcher Carson Kelly. <a href="https://t.co/KptjheqSoW">pic.twitter.com/KptjheqSoW</a></p>
<p>&mdash; Cubs on CHSN (@CHSN_Cubs) <a href="https://twitter.com/CHSN_Cubs/status/1866216562530648288?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 9, 2024</a></p></blockquote>
<p><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p>
<p>After those two, the options are guys like Reese McGuire, James McCann, Christian Bethancourt, and even former Blue Jays Luke Maile and Yan Gomes could be options as well. But that list doesn&#8217;t move the needle very much unless Toronto has some budget left over to upgrade at catcher.</p>
<h2>What will the Blue Jays do?</h2>
<p>It&#8217;s not the sexiest plan, but I think they stick with Kirk and Heineman at catcher to start the 2025 season. I don&#8217;t think Kirk will become a 100 OPS+ guy again, but his run prevention metrics are off the charts, so that cannot be underestimated. Just keeping him healthy and on the field gives this Blue Jays team a chance to win.</p>
<p>The Blue Jays have some catching depth in the minor leagues, with Nick Raposo and Phil Clarke as the &#8216;next man up&#8217; in case of an injury or underperformance. Clarke caught 32 games for the Buffalo Bisons in 2024, so there&#8217;s a chance we see him in a Blue Jays uniform this season.</p>
<p>Toronto also claimed Nick Raposo off waivers from the St. Louis Cardinals late in the season and is another option in triple-A if the Blue Jays need to pull somebody up from the minors.</p>
<p>There are so many holes on the Blue Jays roster that it feels like a luxury to upgrade at catcher. Their money would be spent better elsewhere, like the bullpen, starting lineup or the starting rotation.</p>


Up until Juan Soto signed with the Mets late on Sunday night, the free agent market was moving at a glacial pace. Unless you were a catcher or a starting pitcher, those positions were not affected by Soto's orbit.

Now there are seven catchers who have signed at the time of writing, with <a href="https://bluejaysnation.com/news/former-blue-jay-danny-jansen-signs-a-one-year-deal-with-the-rays">Danny Jansen's one-year deal with the Tampa Bay Rays</a> being the latest catcher to come off the board. The backup catcher was one of the obvious areas for improvement on the Blue Jays roster, and with the options dwindling, one wonders whether Toronto will pursue an upgrade at catching at all.

For the past several years, the Blue Jays enjoyed a surplus of catching depth, or at least a surplus of big league options with Jansen and Alejandro Kirk behind the dish. For the first time since 2019, this team can improve their catching position in the offseason. But will they?

Given the holes all over the roster that need to be filled - namely third base, left field, second base, and the bullpen - a backup catcher is one of the last pieces that might fall into place for the Blue Jays this offseason. Then again, maybe they just run back their internal options and see how that pans out.
<h2>Option 1: Roll with Kirk and Heinemann</h2>
2024 was an odd season for Kirk, but on the whole, it was the second-best season of his career. His 2.8 fWAR total was buoyed by his <a href="https://bluejaysnation.com/news/alejandro-kirk-was-once-again-robbed-of-a-gold-glove">outstanding defensive metrics</a> as Kirk led the American League with 17 defensive runs saved and he<a href="https://baseballsavant.mlb.com/savant-player/alejandro-kirk-672386"> ranked</a> fifth in catcher framing runs. In just a few short seasons, Kirk has transformed his game into one of the best defensive catchers across the Major Leagues. I come back to the phrase "odd" because he was revered for his supreme bat-to-ball skills as a prospect, and yet now his bat is secondary to his glove.

Unfortunately, Kirk's offensive breakout of 2022 looks like an aberration now, as his bat has come back down to earth, now slightly below average. It doesn't appear that an offensive breakout is in the cards for Kirk, but the Blue Jays would gladly take his defensive prowess.

https://twitter.com/CodifyBaseball/status/1781082087166239229

Tyler Heineman is the left-handed hitting complementary piece to Kirk, and he made his third tour with the Blue Jays down the stretch last year getting into a few games after being claimed off of waivers. Heineman's numbers are nothing to write home about, but with Kirk maxing out around the 100 games started mark, the Blue Jays will need a capable backup to pick up the slack.

If the Blue Jays end up sinking their costs into upgrading the lineup or the starting rotation, the catcher spot is one place where they could afford to keep their incumbents and not take too much of a hit offensively.
<h2>Option B: Go outside the organization for a backup catcher</h2>
The catching market in free agency was already thin, and with seven catchers already landing with new teams, the options became that much more limited. Carson Kelly and Yasmani Grandal are the two most attractive options out there, but Kelly may seek a starting role (and is also <a href="https://x.com/JonHeyman/status/1866209539147640855">approaching a deal</a> with the Chicago Cubs).

And with the upper-echelon catchers getting an AAV of $8.5 million, Kelly will be asking for that much more, in the $10 million per season range. It's not a tonne of money to spend, but that's a lot for someone who might only play 100 games.

Grandal, on the other hand, might make more sense for the Blue Jays. He's the veteran with the most catching experience on the market and could be a nice complement to Kirk. Grandal's a switch hitter who can still hit for power, and his defensive metrics are still solid.

https://twitter.com/CHSN_Cubs/status/1866216562530648288

After those two, the options are guys like Reese McGuire, James McCann, Christian Bethancourt, and even former Blue Jays Luke Maile and Yan Gomes could be options as well. But that list doesn't move the needle very much unless Toronto has some budget left over to upgrade at catcher.
<h2>What will the Blue Jays do?</h2>
It's not the sexiest plan, but I think they stick with Kirk and Heineman at catcher to start the 2025 season. I don't think Kirk will become a 100 OPS+ guy again, but his run prevention metrics are off the charts, so that cannot be underestimated. Just keeping him healthy and on the field gives this Blue Jays team a chance to win.

The Blue Jays have some catching depth in the minor leagues, with Nick Raposo and Phil Clarke as the 'next man up' in case of an injury or underperformance. Clarke caught 32 games for the Buffalo Bisons in 2024, so there's a chance we see him in a Blue Jays uniform this season.

Toronto also claimed Nick Raposo off waivers from the St. Louis Cardinals late in the season and is another option in triple-A if the Blue Jays need to pull somebody up from the minors.

There are so many holes on the Blue Jays roster that it feels like a luxury to upgrade at catcher. Their money would be spent better elsewhere, like the bullpen, starting lineup or the starting rotation.

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