logo
Position by Position: Blue Jays appear comfortable with catching tandem despite nothing coming in the pipeline
Toronto Blue Jays
Photo credit: John E. Sokolowski-Imagn Images
Ryley Delaney
Oct 30, 2024, 20:00 EDTUpdated: Oct 30, 2024, 20:20 EDT
Comments
The Toronto Blue Jays were once a catching factory, but now just have one good catcher, a backup, and next to no prospects at the position in the minor league system.
This is an off-season series, looking at the current Jays’ depth for starting pitching, their bullpen, the first base/designated hitter spot, outfielders, infielders, and catchers. In this article, we’ll look at the team’s catching depth before free agency begins.
It’s worth noting that the Blue Jays are fine with using Alejandro Kirk and Tyler Heineman as the tandem next season, according to this article from The Athletic’s Kaitlyn McGrath. This means that it’ll be an area of least concern when it comes to signing players.
Let’s take a look at the backstop position heading into free agency!

Some stats

After using just three catchers in 2023 for the first time since 2016, the Blue Jays returned to using four catchers in 2024. The two main catchers were Alejandro Kirk and Danny Jansen, while Tyler Heineman and Brian Serven served as backups at one point or another.
Jansen was traded before the 2024 trade deadline to the Jays’ American League East rivals, the Boston Red Sox, for Cutter Coffey, Eddinson Paulino, and Gilberto Batista. Late in the season, the Jays claimed Heineman for his third stint with the team, designating Serven for assignment. The latter elected free agency.
As a whole, the four catchers slashed .249/.335/.414 with 21 home runs, tied for the 14th-most in the league. As a whole, Blue Jays catchers finished with a 110 wRC+, the sixth-highest in the league behind the St. Louis Cardinals, Milwaukee Brewers, Seattle Mariners, Texas Rangers, and Atlanta Braves.

Looking at the three catchers on the 40-man roster

As it stands, there are three catchers on the Blue Jays roster, Kirk, Heineman, and prospect Nick Raposo. Let’s take a look at all three of those players.

Alejandro Kirk

Starting with Kirk, he slashed .253/.319/.359 with five home runs in 386 plate appearances last season but had a horrendous 50 plate appearances to start the year. From April 14 until the end of the season, Kirk slashed  .271/.336/.393 with five home runs in 336 plate appearances.
After Jansen was traded before the 2024 trade deadline, Kirk slashed .288/.349/.418 with three home runs in 189 plate appearances for a 121 wRC+ with an 18-game hit streak mixed in. It was by far the closest he’s looked to his 2022 self with the bat.
Of course, Kirk has also been one of the best defensive catchers in the league the past three seasons, being robbed of a Gold Glove in both 2023 and 2024. This past season, he had the fourth-highest Defensive Runs Saved with 14 and the second-highest Fielding Run Value with 15. He was third in the American League in DRS and first in the AL for FRV.
If he can continue the way he ended the season with the bat while providing some of the best catcher defence in the league, Kirk will be incredibly important for the Jays in 2025.

Tyler Heineman

It’s been a long time since the Blue Jays had a true backup catcher, relying on the tandem of Alejandro Kirk and Danny Jansen for the past three seasons.
Well, if the report is right and the Blue Jays don’t look to upgrade the backup catcher this off-season, Heineman will likely fill that role. For the past three seasons, Heineman has had three stints for the Blue Jays, slashing .241/.369/.333 with no home runs in 66 plate appearances.
For his big league career, Heineman is slashing .212/.298/.273 with one home run in 299 plate appearances for a 65 wRC+ and a 1.4 fWAR. Defensively, he’s solid, posting 2 DRS and 1 FRV in 38 innings. In his only real season in 2022, he had 5 DRS and 5 FRV.
If Kirk can find the form he had in 2022, the catcher position is set.

Nick Raposo

Of course, the Blue Jays also have a catcher on the 40-man roster.
In early August, the Blue Jays claimed 26-year-old Nick Raposo off waivers from the St. Louis Cardinals. He was assigned to Buffalo, where he slashed .246/.361/.311 with one home run in 72 plate appearances to end the season. As a whole, he hit a career-high eight home runs in 280 plate appearances while slashing .206/.280/.340.
Raposo is a DFA candidate in all reality.

Depth options

Remember back in 2021 when the Blue Jays had five catchers on the 40-man roster, Jansen, Kirk, Reese McGuire, Riley Adams, and Gabriel Moreno? Only one catcher remains, as the other four were eventually traded, while the Blue Jays haven’t been able to produce any real catching prospects the past few seasons.
One catching prospect to keep an eye on next season is Phil Clarke. The 26-year-old left-handed batter had a great start to his season in Double-A, slashing .307/.421/.366 with no home runs in 121 plate appearances, along with a 13.2 BB% and a 4.1 K%. Upon reaching Triple-A, Clarke slashed .230/.352/.323 with three home runs in 193 plate appearances, along with a 14 BB% and a 14.5 K% for a 86 wRC+.
Defensively, there’s a lot to work on behind the plate for Clarke. Last season, he allowed 87 stolen bases while throwing out just seven runners for a 7.5% caught stealing percentage. Moreover, he allowed eight passed balls for the third consecutive season.
There are a few 2024 draftees to keep an eye on, such as Brock Tibbitts and Aaron Parker, but the highest level they’ve reached in their professional careers is Single-A.
As always, you can follow me on Twitter @Ryley_L_D.

Editorials

Breaking News