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7 Blue Jays least likely to be dealt at the trade deadline
By Edward Eng
Alejandro Kirk
Alejandro Kirk has had a disappointing year so far in 2023 with the Jays. After all, he was just coming off his stellar All-Star, Silver Slugger season in 2022 in which he posted a solid .285 batting average and .786 OPS, with 59 runs scored, 19 doubles, 14 home runs, 63 RBI, 63 walks and 58 strikeouts. However for 2023, in a platoon role with Danny Jansen, Kirk has mustered just six doubles, six home runs, and 28 RBI in 78 games, while sporting a batting average and OPS that was quite below his career average at the same time. In particular, he had been mired in a major slump since June 14, as he has hit only .207 with a .557 OPS, with only three runs scored, one double, one home run and four RBI in 21 games played, before his sudden two home run outburst on Saturday afternoon.
With his current struggles, along with the fact that Jansen may seem injury-prone, we have even recently questioned whether the Jays should pursue an upgrade at the catching position at the trade deadline. However, it may not feel like it, but Kirk is still at a very young age of 24 and still has time to develop and grow his game given more experience and playing time.
More importantly, his rapid ascension through the Jays’ minor league system was primarily due to his hitting prowess, as he proved to be no fluke. So he isn’t going to forget how to hit overnight, so perhaps some slight adjustments is all that is needed to get Kirk back on track. Finally, if the team were to trade away Kirk for more catching help, it would make the trading away of Gabriel Moreno that much more painful, so good chances are they won’t want that to surface at all. Hopefully, his impressive showing from this past Saturday is just the start of things to come for him in the upcoming weeks.