Blue Jays' Alejandro Kirk: Gets breather in finale
Rotowire
Kirk is not in Sunday's lineup against the Rays.
This was essentially a certainty after Toronto clinched a spot in the postseason, as Kirk started 10 of the prior 11 games and could really use a breather. He hit .231 with two home runs, nine runs and 10 RBI in 27 September games.
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Blue Jays' Alejandro Kirk: Second straight two-hit performance
Rotowire
Kirk went 2-for-5 with a solo home run and two additional RBI in Friday's 11-4 win over the Rays.
Kirk got the scoring started in the bottom of the second inning with his eighth long ball of the season and added a single an inning later to give him his second two-hit game in as many contests. With Danny Jansen (finger) landing on the injured list Sept. 2 and still without a clear timeline for a return, Kirk has been locked in as the Blue Jays' No. 1 catcher for most of the month. He's posted a .732 OPS to go with 10 RBI and eight runs over 26 games in September.
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Blue Jays' Alejandro Kirk: Not starting Saturday
Rotowire
Kirk will hit the bench Saturday against the Rays.
Kirk augmented his time behind the plate last season with 49 starts at designated hitter, but his bat has dropped off this season to the point that he's been mostly stuck splitting time with Danny Jansen at catcher. He's been back in an expanded role in September with Jansen out with a broken finger, starting eight of the previous nine games, but it will be Tyler Heineman who starts Saturday.
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Blue Jays' Alejandro Kirk: Gets breather Sunday
Rotowire
Kirk is not in the lineup for Sunday's game against the Red Sox.
Tyler Heineman will catch and bat ninth as Kirk grabs some rest after making four straight starts behind the plate. He went 1-for-4 with a walk in the Blue Jays' win over Boston on Saturday.
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Blue Jays' Alejandro Kirk: Out of Tuesday's lineup
Rotowire
Kirk is not in Tuesday's lineup against the Rangers.
Kirk is hitting .250 with three doubles, five runs and four RBI in 10 games this month. Tyler Heineman is starting behind the plate, batting ninth.
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Blue Jays' Alejandro Kirk: On bench Wednesday
Rotowire
Kirk is absent from the lineup for Wednesday's tilt in Oakland, Shi Davidi of Sportsnet.ca reports.
It's a day game after a night game, so Kirk will get a breather. Tyler Heineman is doing the catching for Hyun Jin Ryu.
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Blue Jays' Alejandro Kirk: Three hits in win
Rotowire
Kirk went 3-for-3 with two doubles, three RBI and two runs scored in Wednesday's win over the Nationals.
Kirk opened the scoring in the first inning with a two-out, two-run double before adding a third RBI with a sacrifice fly in the seventh. The 24-year-old Kirk has gone 6-for-11 with four doubles in his last three games following a 4-for-31 (.129) stretch in his previous 10 contests. While Danny Jansen had been getting the majority of starts behind the plate recently, Kirk could regain some playing time with his hot bat. He's now batting .255 with six homers, 33 RBI, 25 runs scored and a .686 OPS across 331 plate appearances this season.
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Blue Jays' Alejandro Kirk: Losing work to Jansen
Rotowire
Kirk is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Guardians.
The Blue Jays' timeshare at catcher has been favoring Danny Jansen of late. Jansen will pick up his fifth start in seven games, while Kirk has received the other two starts at catcher during that stretch. Kirk's lack of usage comes while he's maintained a lowly .513 OPS through 15 games in August.
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Blue Jays' Alejandro Kirk: Heads to bench
Rotowire
Kirk will sit Saturday against the Guardians.
Kirk finds himself on the bench for the second time in three games, with Danny Jansen starting behind the plate. Kirk's disappointing .247/.328/.338 slash line means he hasn't had the opportunity to pad his playing time with starts at designated hitter in recent weeks. He last started at that position back on Aug. 4.
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Blue Jays' Alejandro Kirk: Sitting Thursday
Rotowire
Kirk isn't in the Blue Jays' lineup Thursday against the Orioles.
Kirk is just 2-for-18 across his last five games, so the Jays will give him a day off to regroup Thursday. Danny Jansen will take over behind the plate and bat eighth.
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Blue Jays' Alejandro Kirk: Gets Sunday off
Rotowire
Kirk is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Reds.
Kirk is on the bench for the series finale, but he appears to have overtaken Danny Jansen as the Blue Jays' top option behind the dish. The 24-year-old started at catcher in six of Toronto's last seven games, going 3-for-24 with an RBI during that stretch.
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Blue Jays' Alejandro Kirk: Heads to bench Monday
Rotowire
Kirk is out of the lineup for Monday's game against the Guardians.
Kirk will hit the bench for the series opener after he had started in each of the last four games, with the most recent two coming at catcher while Danny Jansen (wrist) dealt with an injury. Jansen is back behind the plate Monday, but Kirk has made the case to remain part of a timeshare on the days he's not being used as a designated hitter. Though Kirk has been disappointing on the whole in 2023, he's in the midst of one of his best offensive stretches of the season. Dating back to July 20, Kirk has slashed .395/.500/.651 with three home runs and 8:4 BB:K in 13 games.
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Blue Jays' Alejandro Kirk: Mashes two homers
Rotowire
Kirk went 3-for-4 with two homers, three RBI and three runs scored in Saturday's win over the Angels.
Kirk led off the bottom of the fifth with a single before coming around to score the first run of the contest on a Santiago Espinal home run in his next at-bat. The catcher would then tack onto Toronto's lead with a leadoff home run in the seventh followed by a two-run shot in the eighth. It marked Kirk's first multi-homer game of the season, and he's now batting .292 in July with three long balls and seven RBI.
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Blue Jays' Alejandro Kirk: Four hits in Saturday's loss
Rotowire
Kirk went 4-for-5 in Saturday's 9-8 loss to the Mariners.
All four hits were singles, and none of them led directly to runs, but it's still another sign Kirk is beginning to turn his season around. The 24-year-old backstop has seven hits in his last two starts, and since the All-Star break he's batting .471 (8-for-17) to push his slash line on the season up to .252/.331/.330.
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Blue Jays' Alejandro Kirk: Homers, tallies three hits in win
Rotowire
Kirk went 3-for-3 with a home run, two RBI and a run scored in Thursday's win over the Padres.
Kirk singled in each of his first two trips to the plate and walked in a third plate appearance, but was left stranded each time. He then added a two-run home run in the bottom of the eighth to put the Blue Jays up 4-0, his first long ball since June 5 against the Astros. The catcher is still hitting just .172 (5-for-29) for the month even after the three-hit performance, while the free pass was his first time drawing a walk in his last 23 games.
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Blue Jays' Alejandro Kirk: On bench again Wednesday
Rotowire
Kirk is not in the lineup for Wednesday's contest versus the Padres, Mike Wilner of the Toronto Star reports.
Kirk has sat out two straight and has caught just one of the last five games as he struggles through an extended slump at the plate. Danny Jansen will catch for Jose Berrios.
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Blue Jays' Alejandro Kirk: Taking seat Tuesday
Rotowire
Kirk is not in the lineup for Tuesday's game versus the Padres, Shi Davidi of Sportsnet.ca reports.
It will be Danny Jansen catching Alek Manoah. Kirk is in the midst of a 3-for-39 slump at the plate, which has his OPS on the year down to .610.
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Blue Jays' Alejandro Kirk: Sitting for night game
Rotowire
Kirk is not in the lineup for the second game of Thursday's doubleheader against the White Sox.
Kirk served as the catcher in the first game of the doubleheader, so it's no surprise that he'll get some rest. He's been in the lineup for five of seven games since being activated from the injured list June 29, though he's gone just 2-for-16 with no extra-base hits.
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Blue Jays' Alejandro Kirk: Activated from injured list
Rotowire
Toronto activated Kirk (hand) from the 10-day injured list Thursday.
It was a minimum stay on the IL as Kirk recovered from a laceration and bruise on his left hand. Maybe the time off can function as a reset of sorts for the 24-year-old catcher and designated hitter, who has posted an underwhelming .253/.337/.331 slash line with three home runs and 21 RBI through 59 games this season.
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Blue Jays' Alejandro Kirk: On track for Thursday
Rotowire
Kirk (hand) is trending toward a Thursday return from the 10-day injured list, Mitch Bannon of SI.com reports.
That is the first day that Kirk is eligible to be activated. He has been throwing, hitting and catching side sessions this week as he nears the end of his recovery from a laceration and bruise on his left hand.
