Blue Jays: Catcher injuries could make the Jays vulnerable

Catchers are involved in every play, so they are every bit as important as the pitchers. They need to know the pitchers and their strengths and weaknesses, and the opposition batters as well. Catcher's importance can't be stressed enough. and injuries can be devastating.

Alejandro Kirk (24) and Danny Jansen (27) are more than adequate catchers, call decent games and have bat-to-ball skills, but neither can be considered an ironman.

Many criticize Kirk's weight, but it is his body, and he certainly knows how to use it. He is fully deserving of his All-Star appearance and Silver Slugger. Not bad for a chunky kid from Tijuana.

Injuries have kept Kirk off the roster for serious time over the last couple years. A hip flexor in 2021 sidelined him for about ten weeks.

Danny Jansen is the more experienced, but he has injury history too, in particular a broken hand, though he has been durable over all.

The Blue Jays just parted with highly touted catching prospect Gabriel Moreno, and in return got Daulton Varsho, who is very versatile. Since breaking in with the Diamondbacks in 2020, he has 82 games at catcher and 192 in the outfield. He was a catcher all through college and the minors, but has proved his athleticism and versatility in converting admirably to the outfield. Along with his very good left hand bat, he is an excellent addition to the Jays roster.

If either Kirk or Jansen go down, Varsho is available to be the backup catcher. That situation is not bad, because he can be in a game at another position and take over catching if an injury occurs, unlike when Jansen caught and Kirk was DH last year. Varsho's presence lends great versatility to the catcher situation for the Jays.

If Kirk or Jansen goes down, the other can take up the slack with Varsho as plan B. If two of these three are down at the same time, our options narrow considerably as there is no one in the system ripe to be called up.

Prediction: Kirk and Jansen will each be on the IL for at least 15 days, hopefully not at the same time. Over 162 games, Kirk or Jansen will catch 150. The rest will be taken up by Varsho.