FanSided's most untouchable deadline asset for Blue Jays is not the obvious superstar choice

There's no denying how big Alejandro Kirk's contributions were to the team in 2025. As the Toronto Blue Jays reached the World Series for the first time in three decades, their primary catcher had one of his best season's both behind and in front of the plate.

He was worth 4.7 fWAR, the highest of his career, surpassing the 4.3 fWAR he produced during his All-Star season in 2022. In 2025 he hit a career high 25 home runs, drove in a career high 76 RBIs and produced a 116 wRC+. Behind the plate, FanGraphs graded him as being worth 24.9 defensive fWAR, which was also the highest mark of his career.

On that merit alone, there's no way Kirk should be considered as a trade target for other teams going into the 2026 trade deadline. That's something FanSided's Chris Landers reiterated in his article on, "Every MLB team's untouchable trade asset entering the trade deadline."

While most people would see that headline and think the obvious choice would be Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Landers pegged Kirk as the Blue Jays' candidate. He wrote, "The Blue Jays are in hard sell mode, and that means rentals like Kevin Gausman, Daulton Varsho and Shane Bieber are as good as gone. Some fans have suggested moving on from Alejandro Kirk, considering Brandon Valenzuela's ascent while he was on the IL, but that strikes me as incredibly premature.

He remains dynamite behind the plate, and that defense alone would make his current five-year, $58 million deal a steal. But he also showed last fall the kind of upside he offers as a hitter, and a slow start amid an injury-plagued season shouldn't change that. A team that wants to contend in 2027 should want Kirk on its roster."

It also stands to reason that because of Kirk's injury, he's having a down year and that means his value is not as high as it could be. For the Blue Jays to offer up Kirk at anything less than when he's playing at his best, their probably asking to take a long-term loss in that kind of trade.

Blue Jays catching depth improving, but Alejandro Kirk is still their guy

The Blue Jays have already moved two other big league catchers out of their system to retain Kirk in the past. First, it was trading up and coming prospect Gabriel Moreno ahead of the 2023 season. Moreno had made his MLB debut the season before but was third on the depth chart behind Kirk and Danny Jansen, so he was packaged with Lourdes Gurriel Jr. and sent to Arizona for Daulton Varsho.

Then it was Jansen who was dealt to the Boston Red Sox at the 2024 trade deadline for a package of three prospects. Kirk then signe that five-year deal ahead of the 2025 campaign, solidifying himself as Toronto's guy behind the dish.

The same thing could be happening now as Valenzuela is emerging as a potential number one option as the team's backstop. The Blue Jays have also just drafted Will Brick, and are seeing good performances out of players on the farm like; 22-year-old Giaconino Lasaracina (.303/.396/.588, nine home runs, 144 wRC+), 21-year-old Ryan Sprock (.250/.354/.450, 113 wRC+) and 23-year-old Aaron Parker (11 home runs, .250/.359/.457 118 wRC+).

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