The Blue Jays placed All-Star catcher Alejandro Kirk on the 10-day injured list Saturday after he dislocated and broke his left thumb on a foul tip in Toronto’s loss to the Chicago White Sox on Friday.
Kirk will visit with a hand specialist Monday to determine if surgery is needed, after which a timetable for his return will be established. Given the nature of the injury, it is likely to be an extended absence.
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Kirk was hit by the foul tip on his gloved hand. Catchers often shake off minor injuries during play, but Kirk immediately turned and walked off the field. Toronto manager John Schneider remarked after Friday’s game that Kirk’s reaction was concerning.
Schneider said Kirk was taking the injury about as you’d expect.
“He’s all right, as [Kirk] can be,” Schneider said. “He’s pissed, obviously. Tough news for us and for Kirky for sure.”
Kirk, 27, served as the Blue Jays’ catcher as they made their run all the way to a Game 7 loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers in the World Series. Last season, he hit .282 with 15 homers and earned his second All-Star appearance.
Tyler Heineman presumably will take a lot of the playing time at catcher while Kirk is out. He is regarded as one of the best backups, with seven seasons of big league experience, including five with the Blue Jays; he played in 61 games last year, hitting .289 with three homers.
Rookie catcher Brandon Valenzuela was called up to take Kirk’s place on the roster. He’ll split time with Heineman during Kirk’s absence. Both players are switch-hitters.
“I think it’ll be a pretty even split,” Schneider said of the expected distribution of playing time. “Not often you get two switch-hitting catchers on your roster. I don’t think I’ve ever had that, but we’ll kind of see how it unfolds.”
Schneider added that Valenzuela is a “really talented guy that did a great job in spring training.”
The Blue Jays already have been hit by injuries this spring, with starting pitchers Shane Bieber, Jose Berrios and Trey Yesavage all going down with arm problems.
Yesavage put together a 44-pitch rehab outing Friday night with Single-A Dunedin, showing close-to-normal velocity, according to Schneider, who added that the next step in his rehab has yet to be determined.
“We’ve got to just get in touch with him today, see how he is feeling,” Schneider said Saturday. “But he checked every box in terms of pitches and stuff. So he’s been trending in the right direction for a few weeks. That is a really good sign, and we’ll see where his next stop is.”
ESPN’s Bradford Doolittle contributed to this report.
