Blue Jays work through decisions with Kirk for the Classic
DUNEDIN, Fla. — With every passing day that Alejandro Kirk is away from Blue Jays camp as he and his accomplice await the beginning of their little one, the choice on whether or not or not he’ll take part within the World Baseball Classic turns into trickier.
Kirk has been coaching on his personal, going between his house in Mexico and San Diego, the place the child is predicted to be born. The 24-year-old All-Star has the membership’s assist to be along with his household, after all, however when the time comes for him to hitch the Blue Jays at camp, the 2 sides might want to make a baseball determination.
“You’re getting to the point where you really have to make the best decision for the club,” supervisor John Schneider mentioned Wednesday. “Nothing yet on the baby front, so we’ve talked through a number of different scenarios regarding what’s best for him and what’s best for us. If it does get to that, then that will be part of the equation.”
There’s not essentially a deadline on this, given what number of elements are at play. These discussions are ongoing, although, and they’re going to develop every day.
“We’re entering that tricky timeframe where you want to be really sure that you’re building up correctly,” Schneider mentioned. “We’re right around that timeframe.”
Mexico opens its World Baseball Classic schedule on March 11 towards Colombia, a recreation that’s scheduled to happen in Phoenix. Kirk would want to hitch the membership previous to then, after all, making that timeframe even tighter. Pitchers and catchers taking part within the WBC reported a couple of days earlier this spring, on Feb. 13, to assist offset the time they’d be lacking.
Working in Kirk’s favor is that he’s such a naturally gifted hitter, so lacking a couple of reps on the plate could not harm him as a lot as your common 24-year-old. As a catcher, although, there are lots of extra tasks.
Schneider singled out Kirk’s bodily buildup by means of camp — like every other participant’s — as a major problem, and added that Kirk might want to be taught a brand new group of pitchers, together with Chris Bassitt and Erik Swanson. Some of these items require time and may’t be expedited far more.
In the meantime, veteran Rob Brantly is working with extra pitchers. The 33-year-old has appeared in eight MLB seasons with 5 organizations and performed in 887 Minor League video games, so his expertise is efficacious.
“He knows why we brought him in here,” Schneider mentioned. “He’s been around long enough to where he understands what he needs to do to be a key contributor to this team. I love the way he works. I love the way he communicates. I think his actual physical skills speak for themselves. I like the way he catches, and he’s a left-handed hitter. He’s a veteran presence, and I’ve been very pleased with what he’s done so far.”
Once the Blue Jays have Kirk again and rolling, he’ll kind one in every of baseball’s greatest catching tandems alongside Danny Jansen, who loved an offensive breakout of his personal in 2022. Last season, Kirk hit .285 with 14 house runs and a .787 OPS, strolling extra instances (63) than he struck out (58), as his potential to make contact added a novel ingredient to the guts of Toronto’s lineup.
