No Help on the Horizon: Blue Jays Catching Prospects Dried…
The Toronto Blue Jays were once a catching factory, but now just have one good catcher, a backup, and next to no prospects at the position in the minor league system.
This is an off-season series, looking at the current Jays’ depth for starting pitching, their bullpen, the first base/designated hitter spot, outfielders, infielders, and catchers. In this article, we’ll look at the team’s catching depth before free agency begins.
It’s worth noting that the Blue Jays are fine with using Alejandro Kirk and Tyler Heineman as the tandem next season, according to this article from The Athletic’s Kaitlyn McGrath. This means that it’ll be an area of least concern when it comes to signing players.
Let’s take a look at the backstop position heading into free agency!
Some stats
After using just three catchers in 2023 for the first time since 2016, the Blue Jays returned to using four catchers in 2024. The two main catchers were Alejandro Kirk and Danny Jansen, while Tyler Heineman and Brian Serven served as backups at one point or another.
Jansen was traded before the 2024 trade deadline to the Jays’ American League East rivals, the Boston Red Sox, for Cutter Coffey, Eddinson Paulino, and Gilberto Batista. Late in the season, the Jays claimed Heineman for his third stint with the team, designating Serven for assignment. The latter elected free agency.
As a whole, the four catchers slashed .249/.335/.414 with 21 home runs, tied for the 14th-most in the league. As a whole, Blue Jays catchers finished with a 110 wRC+, the sixth-highest in the league behind the St. Louis Cardinals, Milwaukee Brewers, Seattle Mariners, Texas Rangers, and Atlanta Braves.
