Blue Jays' Kirk undergoing X-rays after leaving game with thumb injury
Toronto Blue Jays catcher Alejandro Kirk is undergoing X-rays on his left thumb after being hurt late in Friday's 5-4 loss to the Chicago White Sox.
Kirk suffered the apparent injury when Austin Hays' foul tip struck the thumb on his glove hand in the 10th inning. He quickly motioned to the dugout and then left the game. Tyler Heineman took over behind the plate.
Alejandro Kirk was removed from the game after taking a foul tip off his glove hand pic.twitter.com/jnBelzsjXa
— Talkin' Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) April 3, 2026
"When he says that (he needs to come out), let's get it checked out. ... Especially with a guy like him and how important he is to us, I'm going to be ultra cautious there," Blue Jays manager John Schneider said postgame, per Keegan Matheson of MLB.com
The Blue Jays don't have much catching depth behind the two-time All-Star. If Kirk is forced to miss an extended period of time, Heineman would presumably become the team's primary catcher.
Brandon Valenzuela, who's currently at Triple-A Buffalo and has never played in the majors, is the only other catcher currently on the Blue Jays' 40-man roster. Toronto also has minor-league veteran C.J. Stubbs, who played one game with the Washington Nationals last year, in Triple-A.
Kirk has been one of baseball's most durable catchers during his seven-year career, having been placed on the injured list just three times since debuting in 2020.
The 27-year-old owns a .577 OPS with one homer and two RBIs through his first five games of 2026.