Blue Jays seeing 'best version' of Kirk as club's No. 1 catcher

DUNEDIN, Fla. -- There¡¯s no more co-starring. This is Alejandro Kirk's show now.

The Blue Jays made no major additions alongside Kirk at catcher this offseason, even after Danny Jansen, their longtime catcher and Kirk¡¯s battery mate, signed with the Rays. Kirk has never been more important to this team than he is today.

Kirk is off to a fine start, for whatever mid-February is worth. Toronto manager John Schneider sees the ¡°best version¡± of Kirk, who relocated to Dunedin in November to train at the club¡¯s complex instead of at home in Mexico, like he typically had done in past offseasons.

¡°He nailed it,¡± Schneider said. ¡°When we think of Kirky and talk about him physically, he¡¯s not going to steal many bases and things like that, but he¡¯s strong. He¡¯s going to be durable and, hopefully, he feels great. The structure was good for him. He had his family here and he really got after it.¡±

Kirk looks a bit trimmer, sure, but the beauty of his game has always relied more on subtle skills than explosive athleticism. He¡¯s a strong pitch framer and one of the best pitch blockers in the game, things that don¡¯t jump off your screen each night watching a ball game, but which matter deeply. He¡¯s a pitcher¡¯s dream back there.

When Kirk skyrocketed through the Minors, though, we spent more time talking about his bat. Early last year, Kirk¡¯s lower half was out of whack and he looked completely unlike himself, lunging at too many pitches. He¡¯s trying to get back to that form of 2022, when he hit .285 with a .787 OPS and more walks (63) than strikeouts (58).

Kirk¡¯s finish in 2024 produced some optimism that he will bounce back, but doing that while handling the starting catcher¡¯s duties is another challenge entirely. This is something Jansen often ran into with the Blue Jays. How can you focus on your hitting while simultaneously being the busiest man in Dunedin, running from meeting to meeting, bullpen to bullpen?

¡°That¡¯s one of the main reasons I got here early in November,¡± Kirk said through a club interpreter. ¡°I wanted to be ready, to spend time with some of the guys who were here from the rotation and work more on our communication, work on my defense. Hopefully, that carries over to my offense.¡±

This is a major season for Kirk, who is still just 26. He has two seasons remaining of club control with the Blue Jays, and as the undisputed starter, he¡¯s setting himself up for a fascinating free agency if both sides let it get to that point. For now, though, he¡¯s as integral to the team¡¯s success as anyone.

¡°He¡¯s coming off a three-win season as one of the better catchers in the game last year. He is driven,¡± executive vice president of baseball operations and general manager Ross Atkins said. ¡°One thing all of you here know well is that one of the things that separates Kirk is his poise. He¡¯s incredible under pressure. You see that in his blocking and receiving skills in really, really intense moments, how relaxed he stays. As he continues to get stronger and stronger, he really could be one of the better players in the game.¡±

Kirk can¡¯t catch every night, though, and the Blue Jays will roll with a more traditional backup in either Tyler Heineman, who has a 40-man roster spot, or veteran Christian Bethancourt, who doesn¡¯t.

This is an old-school competition and their performance in Spring Training will matter. This also feels like a spot on the roster the Blue Jays could continue to add to, even as rosters are cut down around the Majors at the end of camp, but the organization is looking for someone to step up and catch 40-plus games here. It¡¯s still a big ask.

¡°There is the old adage that a backup catcher can either really catch or really hit,¡± Schneider said. ¡°We¡¯ll see what the roster looks like and what we need.¡±

It all starts with Kirk, though, who is trying to make the jump from being a good tandem catcher to being the star of the show.