Toronto Blue Jays manager John Schneider announced Monday that catcher Alejandro Kirk is scheduled to have surgery Tuesday to fix a fractured left thumb.
The injury occurred during Friday’s 5-4 defeat against the Chicago White Sox when Kirk caught a foul tip near the bottom of his glove. Team officials have not yet established a timeline for the All-Star’s return to action.
“We’ll know the timeline after the surgery,” Schneider stated.
The 27-year-old Kirk has struggled early this season, going 3-for-20 with a .150 batting average, one home run and two RBIs across five games.
Throughout his seven-year major league career since joining Toronto in 2020, Kirk has compiled a .267 batting average with 52 home runs and 265 RBIs over 569 games.
With Kirk sidelined, 34-year-old Tyler Heineman will take over as the primary catcher. Heineman has performed well early this season, going 4-for-10 through five games. The team called up prospect Brandon Valenzuela, 25, from Triple-A Buffalo on Saturday to serve as backup catcher. Valenzuela made his major league debut on Sunday, going 1-for-3 with two strikeouts.
