In the three weeks since Alejandro Kirk returned from a fractured left thumb, the two-time All-Star has brought a sense of normalcy back behind the plate for the Toronto Blue Jays’ roster, and he’s also formed one of the sport’s most exciting catching tandems with rookie Brandon Valenzuela.

Prior to Kirk’s return from the injured list, Valenzuela emerged as the club’s starting backstop, leapfrogging Tyler Heineman on the depth chart and leading to his eventual departure via trade to the Los Angeles Angels. The 25-year-old, switch-hitting catcher broke out as the club’s premier option — only he’s now had to assume a backup role in recent weeks.

The pair of Mexican-born catchers — first joined together in Buffalo last season during Kirk’s Triple-A rehab assignment — are now the faces of this franchise’s catching duo, both for the present and, if all goes well, the future, too. But there are still a few wrinkles to iron out, namely divvying up playing time between them.

Kirk, for example, made his return against the New York Yankees on June 12. Since then, he’s compiled 51 plate appearances in 14 games to Valenzuela’s 27 plate appearances over just seven games in that span.

Predictably, the Blue Jays have handed the keys to the starting catching position back to Kirk, who, despite going 4-for-7 in his first two games off the IL, enters Friday’s series opener versus the Seattle Mariners struggling to a .179/.214/.256 slash line and a 27 wRC+ (100 league average) over his previous 12 games.

This type of drop-off for Kirk isn’t overly surprising, considering he recently spent two months on the shelf. It’s probably going to take a bit of time before he fully regains his timing and approach in the batter’s box. That’s part of the reason Toronto’s brass was planning to ease him back into the swing of things upon his return.

The only snag with that plan, however, is that Valenzuela’s bat has also cooled.

In those seven games since Kirk returned, the former San Diego Padres prospect is 4-for-his-last-23 and has struck out over 40 per cent of the time, resulting in a 55 wRC+. For context, he had been hitting .252/.333/.457 with a 120 wRC+ in 46 games before then, worth a team-high 1.6 fWAR.

Transitioning from what was essentially a full-time role to now Kirk’s backup hasn’t come easy for Valenzuela. These types of adjustments are typically tough on younger players. But the most encouraging sign is that it hasn’t impacted his defence, as he currently ranks in the 97th percentile in fielding run value (nine) and the 100th percentile with his pitch framing (seven catcher framing runs).

Typically, the Blue Jays have given the day game after a night game starts to Valenzuela. But since there are only three of those during their nine-game road trip through Seattle, San Francisco and San Diego — which will be a homecoming of sorts — it’ll be interesting to see whether his playing time increases, even a little, heading into the All-Star break.

There has been some thought of occasionally starting Valenzuela at first base, a position he continues to take regular pre-game reps this season and where he made six total appearances last season between Double-A and Triple-A. But even with Vladimir Guerrero Jr. in and out of the lineup due to back tightness, the team has to keep whatever at-bats are available at that spot open for fellow rookie Sean Key, especially after blasting his first major league home run on Wednesday.

Rostering not one, but two trustworthy catchers is every manager’s dream. While it’s a dream scenario for the Blue Jays, one not too dissimilar from the Kirk-Jansen-Moreno days, all good problems still require solutions — and the team is still searching for one here.

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