The Toronto Blue Jays have been decimated by injuries to begin the year, and none may be more impactful than Alejandro Kirk.
Kirk is one of the top catchers in all of baseball, and he will be sidelined for around six weeks after undergoing thumb surgery. Kirk’s injury makes it hard for the team to deal with, as the Blue Jays will be rolling with Tyler Heineman and rookie Brandon Valenzuela at catcher.
Since Kirk’s injury, Heinema and Valenzuela have both struggled defensively, and neither provides much offense. With that, MLB analyst Billy Heyen of Sporting News urges Toronto to acquire Mickey Gasper from the Boston Red Sox.
“The thought: Toronto should trade for Mickey Gasper,” Heyen wrote. “Gasper isn’t a household name. He’s not even on Boston’s MLB roster, but rather down at Triple-A Worcester. But that would make his cost quite cheap in a deal. And Gasper is a guy that in three separate minor league seasons has hit better than .300.
“Last season with the Twins, in 45 games, he batted just .158. Admittedly, that’s not good. But his track record is that he can be a useful hitter, and it’s unlikely he’d be quite that bad in another chance at MLB. So far at Worcester this season, Gasper is hitting a cool .400. That’ll work. Tyler Heineman and Brandon Valenzuela aren’t terrible options. Maybe Gasper isn’t actually better than either. But it could be worth a try.”
Gasper does have MLB experience and could be a slight upgrade over Valenzuela. And, it likely wouldn’t cost Toronto much to acquire him.
If it doesn’t work out, the Blue Jays could simply DFA Gasper in a low-risk move until Kirk comes back.
Who is Mickey Gasper?
If Toronto does trade for Gasper, it would be to add some more MLB experience behind the plate.
Gasper is 30-years-old and was selected in the 27th round of the 2018 MLB Draft by the New York Yankees. Boston selected Gasper in the minor-league phase of the Rule 5 Draft in 2023, and he made his MLB debut in 2024.
That offseason, the Red Sox traded Gasper to the Minnesota Twins and spent the 2025 season with the team. After being DFA’d by the Twins in January, he was claimed off waivers by the Washington Nationals. Yet, he was DFA’d again, and the Red Sox claimed him and optioned him to Triple-A.
Gasper has appeared in 58 career games, hitting .133 with 2 home runs and 11 RBIs.
Blue Jays Announce Kirk Undergoes Surgery
Kirk is arguably the second most important player to the Blue Jays’ success outside of Vladimir Guerrero Jr., who’s the face of the franchise.
So, Kirk, undergoing surgery and going on IL for upwards of six weeks, is a tough blow. Blue Jays manager John Schneider also had plenty of praise for Kirk and what he brings to the team.
“Kirky, around the game, is just an underrated player,” Schneider said. “What he can do on both sides of the ball is pretty unique. Whether it’s contact, home runs, catching, blocking and throwing. One of Kirky’s superpowers is that he’s so steady. That is hard to do when you’re back there every day.”
Before the injury, Kirk was hiting .150 with 1 home run and 2 RBIs, but he’s one of the best defensive catchers in all of baseball.
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