With Spring Training now in full swing, the Blue Jays are heading into the season looking to build on their spectacular 2025 season.

With pitchers and catchers now in Dunedin, we have to look at how the team’s depth is shaping up long term. Going into last season, Alejandro Kirk was and remains the team’s starting catcher, and is also entering the first year of a five-year, $58 million contract that is a great piece of business for Ross Atkins and company. Kirk finished last season as an All-Star for the second time in his big-league career and set career highs in home runs (17) and RBIs (73) in 130 games.

Tyler Heineman was the team’s backup last season and had a career season at 34 years old, as he put up a .777 OPS with three home runs and 30 RBIs in 60 games behind the plate.  As great a season Heineman had last year, he is going to be older, and if Kirk suffers any injury, that leaves a big hole at the catcher’s spot. The team had Ali Sanchez play in eight games last season as their third catcher when injury troubles hit the group, and he was waived in early August.

Next on the depth charts in the organization is 25-year-old Brandon Valenzuela, who was acquired by the Jays last season in the Will Wagner trade to the Padres. He is a .207-hitting catcher who’s more of a glove-first defensive player than an everyday contributor to your ballclub.

The Blue Jays have also signed CJ Stubbs to a minor league deal, adding some depth to the catching ranks, and they also invited multiple minor league catchers in their organization to big league Spring Training, including Aaron Parker, Edward Duran, Geovanny Planchart, and Robert Brooks. All of those names have little to no major league experience, with Stubbs leading the way with three games played last season with the Houston Astros. Stubbs will likely suit up with the Bisons alongside Valenzuela, but the remainder are likely going to just fill the gaps within the farm system this spring.

Of the external options that are left on the market, not the most appealing. Mitch Garver, who has only caught 68 games behind the plate in the last two seasons, is also 35 and sustaining multiple injuries. Christian Vazquez is also a similar type of player, as both catchers have had negative WARs over the past two seasons. The likes of Tom Murphy, Jacob Stallings, and Elias Diaz are also available, all of whom are career journeyman backstops who could provide some additional depth in the minor leagues that could be beneficial come the dog days of summer. They aren’t the flashiest names available, but the Jays aren’t looking for a replacement behind the plate, just some insurance should things go awry.

A lot can happen between now and Opening Day, but the way that it looks to most is that the same catching duo of Kirk and Heineman make the team out of Spring Training, with Valenzuela being the third catcher in the depth chart.

The question remains whether the Jays feel comfortable with their current depth behind the plate, or whether they want to add a few more names into the mix to provide some additional insurance should Kirk or Heineman be out for an extended period of time.

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