Mariner's waiver claim puts unexpected pressure on Blue Jays’ catching depth

Catching depth has always been an important piece of the puzzle for the Toronto Blue Jays, especially after the departures of Gabriel Moreno and Danny Jansen. As it stands currently, the depth is quite thin for the Blue Jays beyond Alejandro Kirk and Brandon Valenzuela at the major league level.

That depth took another slight hit when the Jays ended up losing Willie MacIver after designating him for assignment earlier this week. The Seattle Mariners were the culprit as they claimed MacIver off waivers from Toronto on Wednesday. The Mariners subsequently assigned the 29-year-old catcher to their Triple-A affiliate Tacoma Rainiers to serve as depth for their organization now.

MacIver was originally acquired from the Texas Rangers by the Blue Jays for cash considerations in April this year. He would end up spending his entire Jays tenure with their Triple-A affiliate Buffalo Bisons where he batted a strong .270 with an .803 OPS, together with 31 runs scored, 15 doubles, three triples, seven home runs, 44 RBIs and four stolen bases in 60 total games played.

MacIver was posting solid numbers, so it was actually quite surprising that the Blue Jays didn’t hang on to him longer, given their rash of injuries they have endured for much of the season. But with Toronto needing a spot on the 40-man roster for Simeon Woods-Richardson, who was DFA’d by the Jays in June but remained in the organization, the 29-year-old catcher became an unexpected roster casualty.

Blue Jays might have thought they could get Willie MacIver through waivers

Perhaps the Jays thought they could sneak MacIver through waivers just like Woods-Richardson, since most thought he would likely go unclaimed and remain in the organization as valuable catching depth. Unfortunately, the Mariners actually saw value in him and snatched him away just two days after being DFA’d.

The Blue Jays will certainly feel the hit as they are now left with C.J. Stubbs and William Simoneit as their main catchers at the Triple-A level. Both backstops have a combined one game of MLB experience, that being Stubbs, who made his only big league appearance in his MLB debut with the Washington Nationals in 2025. He would go hitless in three at-bats in the game against the Miami Marlins. On the other hand, MacIver had previously appeared in 32 games with the Athletics in 2025, compiling a .186 average, .576 OPS, along with seven runs scored, five doubles, three home runs and nine RBIs.  

With MacIver gone, it doesn’t leave much catching depth with MLB experience left in the organization for Toronto. As a result, the Blue Jays will need both Kirk and Valenzuela to stay as healthy as possible for the rest of 2026 to help carry the team.

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