Kirk isn't in the lineup for Saturday's game against Detroit.
Kirk will get a day to reset after going 0-for-8 with a strikeout over his last two games. Tyler Heineman will catch for Eric Lauer instead and bat eighth.
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Blue Jays' Alejandro Kirk: Blasts three-run homer in return
Rotowire
Kirk went 2-for-4 with a three-run homer in Wednesday's 3-1 win over the Rays.
Kirk was removed from Sunday's win over the Mariners after being hit in the head on a Julio Rodriguez backswing, but the catcher passed the league's concussion protocols and was cleared to return Wednesday. Kirk's return turned out to be the difference as he supplied the Jays' run total with a three-run blast in the sixth inning. It was his third home run of the season, and the 26-year-old catcher is slashing .293/.318/.398 with 16 RBI in 129 plate appearances.
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Blue Jays' Alejandro Kirk: Returns to lineup Wednesday
Rotowire
Kirk (head) will start at catcher and bat sixth in Wednesday's game against the Rays.
Kirk was pulled from his last start in Sunday's 9-1 win over the Mariners after he was inadvertently hit in the head by Julio Rodriguez's bat while catching, but the backstop passed all subsequent concussion tests. The Blue Jays still elected to hold Kirk out of the lineup for Tuesday's series opener versus the Rays, but he's ready to go for Wednesday's contest. Kirk maintains a .286 batting average to go with two home runs and 13 RBI over 31 games on the season.
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Blue Jays' Alejandro Kirk: Passes concussion tests
Rotowire
Kirk (head) is not in the Blue Jays' starting lineup against the Rays on Tuesday.
Kirk was removed from Sunday's game against the Mariners after suffering a blow to the helmet on a Julio Rodriguez backswing. Blue Jays manager John Schneider told reporters that Kirk "passed every concussion test" and will likely be available off the bench for Tuesday's contest, per Mitch Bannon of The Athletic. With Kirk on the bench, Tyler Heineman will start behind home plate and bat eighth.
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Blue Jays' Alejandro Kirk: Exits early Sunday
Rotowire
Kirk (head) exited Sunday's contest against the Mariners in the top of the fifth inning, Keegan Matheson of MLB.com reports.
Kirk suffered a blow to the helmet on a backswing from Julio Rodriguez in bottom of the third inning. The catcher remained in the contest for another full inning before exiting, likely due to precautionary reasons. Tyler Heineman replaced him behind the plate versus Seattle.
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Blue Jays' Alejandro Kirk: Tallies four hits in win
Rotowire
Kirk went 4-for-5 in Saturday's 6-3 win over the Mariners.
Kirk is swinging a hot bat, as he's gone 18-for-46 (.391) over his last 11 games. The catcher had four singles Saturday and has just two extra-base hits over that hot stretch, but he's also logged seven RBI in that span. His big game lifted his batting average for the season from .259 to .282, which is accompanied by a .668 OPS, two home runs, 13 RBI, five runs scored and three doubles through 30 contests.
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Blue Jays' Alejandro Kirk: Idle Friday
Rotowire
Kirk isn't in the lineup for Friday's game against the Mariners.
An 0-for-4 performance against the Angels on Thursday put an end to Kirk's six-game hitting streak, and he'll now get a chance to rest Friday while Tyler Heineman catches for Kevin Gausman.
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Blue Jays' Alejandro Kirk: Taking seat Saturday
Rotowire
Kirk isn't in the lineup for Saturday's game against Cleveland.
Kirk will get a day off Saturday after going 6-for-13 with a homer and four RBI across his last three games. Tyler Heineman will do the catching for Kevin Gausman instead while batting eighth.
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Blue Jays' Alejandro Kirk: Continues hot streak Friday
Rotowire
Kirk went 3-for-4 with a two-run single in Friday's 5-3 win over Cleveland.
Kirk put the Jays on the board in the third inning on a single to left field that brought Vladimir Guerrero and Anthony Santander home. It was Kirk's ninth multi-hit game of the season, four of which have come over his last six games. Over that span, the 26-year-old backstop has gone 10-for-24 with one home run and six RBI.
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Blue Jays' Alejandro Kirk: Smacks second homer in victory
Rotowire
Kirk went 2-for-5 with a solo home run and an additional RBI in Wednesday's extra-inning win over Boston.
Kirk snapped a 10-game homerless drought Wednesday, also recording multiple hits for the third time in his last four outings. Despite batting just .233 with two long balls, two doubles and eight RBI over 73 at-bats in April, Kirk has remained Toronto's primary backstop. It's worth noting that backup catcher Tyler Heineman is hitting .448 with four extra-base hits and five RBI across his 29 at-bats this year, so Kirk appears to have some legitimate competition on the depth chart.
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Blue Jays' Alejandro Kirk: Breather in Game 2
Rotowire
Kirk is not in the starting lineup for the nightcap of Sunday's doubleheader with the Yankees.
Kirk will take a seat after he went 2-for-4 while drawing the start behind the plate in the team's 11-2 loss in Game 1. Tyler Heineman will take over at catcher and bat seventh versus New York in Game 2.
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Blue Jays' Alejandro Kirk: Smacks go-ahead double
Rotowire
Kirk went 2-for-4 with a two-run double in Friday's 4-2 win over the Yankees.
Kirk's double in the ninth inning off Devin Williams brought home Andres Gimenez and George Springer and gave the Blue Jays a 3-2 lead. It was Kirk's sixth multi-hit game of the season, and the 26-year-old catcher is slashing .227/.263/.307 with four runs scored, one home run and eight RBI in 80 plate appearances.
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Blue Jays' Alejandro Kirk: Grabbing seat Monday
Rotowire
Kirk is not in the lineup for Monday's contest versus Atlanta.
Kirk had started each of the previous two games but will being Monday's series opener on the bench. Tyler Heineman will do the catching and bat ninth for Toronto.
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Blue Jays' Alejandro Kirk: Hits first homer in win
Rotowire
Kirk went 2-for-4 with a home run, a double and two RBI in Sunday's 7-6 extra-innings win over the Orioles.
Kirk put the Blue Jays on the board with a solo homer in the second inning and tacked on an RBI double in the eighth. While the long ball was his first of the season, the 26-year-old has now logged five multi-hit efforts in 12 games. On the year, he's hitting .261 with a home run, four RBI and four runs scored across 49 plate appearances.
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Blue Jays' Alejandro Kirk: Not in Toronto lineup
Rotowire
Kirk is absent from the lineup for Thursday's game in Boston.
Kirk caught all 11 innings of Wednesday's extra-innings victory, so he'll get a breather during Thursday's matinee. Tyler Heineman is behind the plate and batting eighth for Toronto.
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Blue Jays' Alejandro Kirk: Returns to Toronto lineup
Rotowire
Kirk (leg) will start at catcher and bat sixth in Wednesday's game versus the Red Sox.
Kirk didn't play Tuesday after fouling a pitch off his lower leg in Monday's game, although Blue Jays manager John Schneider indicated it was more of a scheduled day off. The 26-year-old Kirk will bring two straight multi-hit games into Wednesday's festivities.
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Blue Jays' Alejandro Kirk: Receiving rest day
Rotowire
Kirk is out of the lineup for Tuesday's game against the Red Sox after fouling a pitch off his lower leg Monday, Shi Davidi of Sportsnet.ca reports.
Manager John Schneider said it was already a planned day off for Kirk, but it's still worth keeping an eye on the catcher's status heading into Wednesday's contest. Tyler Heineman is starting behind the plate and batting eighth Tuesday.
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Blue Jays' Alejandro Kirk: Sitting out afternoon game
Rotowire
Kirk is not in the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Nationals.
Kirk caught Tuesday's night game, so he'll receive a breather for Wednesday's afternoon tilt. Tyler Heineman will do the catching for the series finale.
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Blue Jays' Alejandro Kirk: Pops first spring homer
Rotowire
Kirk went 1-for-3 with a solo home run in Wednesday's Grapefruit League game against the Pirates.
The backstop supplied the Blue Jays with their only run off Mitch Keller through the first four innings, lofting a hanging curve to straightaway center field. It was Kirk's first homer of the spring, but he's been making strong contact so far, going 5-for-15 (.333) through seven appearances. His line-drive swing probably won't ever provide consistent power numbers, but Toronto would be happy if Kirk can supply something close to the .285 batting average and .372 OBP he produced in 2022 over 541 regular-season plate appearances.
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Blue Jays' Alejandro Kirk: Set for more work behind plate
Rotowire
Kirk will be counted on to catch more games than ever before in 2025 now that Danny Jansen is no longer a Blue Jay, Keegan Matheson of MLB.com reports.
The duo split duties behind the plate each of the past three seasons, and while Kirk set a career high with 541 plate appearances in 2022, much of that playing time came at DH. The 26-year-old has never played more than 99 games at catcher in a season, but he's expected to handle about 120 starts at the position this year. Tyler Heineman and Christian Bethancourt are competing for the backup job in spring training, and neither is suited for Jansen's old tandem role. Kirk's swing mechanics were out of sync early in 2024, but from Aug. 1 on he slashed a respectable .269/.335/.404 with 28 RBI in 44 games, production Toronto would be content with given Kirk's strong pitch framing and defensive skills.
