Top 5 catchers in Blue Jays franchise history by WAR

The Toronto Blue Jays have had a memorable collection of catchers throughout their team history. The then-young duo of Alan Ashby and Rick Cerone did the heavy lifting at the position over the first three years of the franchise’s existence. 

Ernie Whitt was on the inaugural roster but saw scant playing time in the bigs in 1977 and 1978. He became the starting backstop in 1980 and was a mainstay there for a decade, providing stability at that spot not seen since. Whitt's catching partner for five years has become one of the most cherished figures in Jays' lore, Buck Martinez. 

His legendary tag at home plate moments after suffering a broken leg is unforgettable. Martinez became a star in the broadcast booth but had a decent backup before that and enjoyed a 17-year MLB career. 

Pat Borders was in blue from 1988-1994 and was the starting catcher on the back-to-back World Series-winning teams in ‘92 and ‘93. He hit a career-high 13 home runs and won World Series MVP in the first title year. Charlie O’Brien became the first MLB catcher to wear the now-common hockey-style mask and enjoyed his best season in 1996.

Darrin Fletcher played the last five years of his career in Toronto and reached career-highs of 20 homers in 2000 and 80 RBI in 1999. J.P. Arencibia had one of the best debuts possible, with four hits and two home runs, and displayed impressive power. Ultimately, a low batting average and high strikeout rate doomed his time in T.O. 

In recent years, the Blue Jays' depth at the position has been abundant and has traded Gabriel Moreno and Reese McGuire and let Luke Maile walk in free agency. As much criticism as the Moreno trade has generated, the current combo of Danny Jansen and Alejandro Kirk is one many teams would love to have. Here are the top five catchers in terms of WAR (bWAR).