Blue Jays: Alejandro Kirk Makes the Big League Roster

According to Scott Mitchell from TSN, Alejandro Kirk has been told that he has made the Blue Jays Opening Day roster.

In one of the few actual battles for a positional spot on the team, Kirk was in competition with Reese McGuire to be the back-up catcher to Danny Jansen.  Kirk who is just 22-years of age was a September call-up last season and forced managements hand in putting him on the playoff roster after he posted a slash line of .375/.400/.583 over 25 plate appearances in the final month.  He played in Game 1 of the Wild Card series as the Designated Hitter and he went 1 for 3 with a single.

Going into Spring Training this past February many thought he would get a long look, but because he had options he would likely start the season in AAA.  However, Kirk received favorable reviews from the pitching staff including Tanner Roark who stated he felt he has been on the same page with the young catcher for pitch selections.

At the plate this spring, Kirk posted a slash line of .292/.333/.583 over 27 plate appearances including three extra base hits, which two were of the home run variety.

Kirk still had to surpass McGuire on the depth chart to push the club to keep him for Opening Day.  McGuire got a start on Sunday, however, he struggled at the plate going 0 for 3 with a pair of strikeouts.  Overall, this spring McGuire has gone just 3 for 19 (.158) at the plate, but has collected five walks.  It appears as though McGuire will not make the active roster and as such will be exposed to waivers if he is sent down, and there are a handful of teams that would likely take a shot at claiming McGuire.  One of the positives with the McGuire/Jansen tandem was you had a righty/lefty bat combination, where as you will have two right handed bats with the new tandem.

The new battle for Kirk will be to show that he can endure a longer stint in the major leagues and if he can prove that, the next debate will be if he can surpass Jansen for the number one catcher’s spot.  The Blue Jays open the regular season this Friday against the New York Yankees and you know Kirk will be ready to go.