Blue Jays announce four roster moves ahead of Miami Marlins series

Prior to the upcoming series against the Miami Marlins, the Toronto Blue Jays have announced four roster moves, including the IL placement of the top catcher on their depth chart.

• C Alejandro Kirk (left hand laceration) has been placed on the 10-day IL.
• C Tyler Heineman has been recalled from Triple-A.
• RHP Bowden Francis has been optioned to Triple-A.
• RHP Trent Thornton has been recalled from Triple-A.

Kirk, 24, was removed from Sunday's game against the Rangers after taking a fastball off the left hand while up to bat. His placement on the injured list marks yet another Blue Jays player who is set to spend time on the shelf, joining multiple pitchers and his catching tandem partner, Danny Jansen, who is now in line to be the club's everyday starter behind the dish.

On the season, Kirk has been mired in a slump that has seen his offensive numbers from last year dip dramatically. In 59 games, he has just three home runs with 21 RBI, a .253 average and an OPS+ of 91, all long shots from the breakout season he had last year in which he was the American League starting catcher in the All-Star Game.

For Heineman, his latest trip down to Buffalo will prove to be a short one, as he is on his way back to the big leagues already. After being optioned just five days ago to make room for Jansen, he will now re-join the Blue Jays and function as his backup catcher. On the season, the 32-year-old, whose birthday is today (happy birthday Tyler!) has made six appearances for the Jays, going three-for-10 with a run scored and three walks.

Francis is heading back to Buffalo after making a 2.2 inning appearance agasint the Rangers back on Saturday. The 27-year-old filled his role perfectly for the Blue Jays, making three appearances, all of them for multiple innings at a time. His flexibility and proven performance in the bigs will certainly see him return to The Show in no time.

Finally, we have Thornton, who will see big league time for the Blue Jays for the fifth consecutive season once he makes it into game action. Thornton, 29, has made a transition to a relief pitching role and has been fairly solid so far in Triple-A this year. In 18 outings, the right-hander has a 3.04 ERA with 22 strikeouts and 14 walks in 23.2 innings of work.