{"id":63744,"date":"2025-03-23T10:16:47","date_gmt":"2025-03-23T14:16:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/usa\/?p=63744"},"modified":"2025-03-23T10:16:47","modified_gmt":"2025-03-23T14:16:47","slug":"toronto-blue-jays-lock-down-alejandro-kirk-amid-uncertain-offseason","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/usa\/toronto-blue-jays-lock-down-alejandro-kirk-amid-uncertain-offseason\/63744\/","title":{"rendered":"Toronto Blue Jays lock down Alejandro Kirk amid uncertain offseason"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"flex max-w-full flex-col flex-grow\">\n<div class=\"min-h-8 text-message relative flex w-full flex-col items-end gap-2 whitespace-normal break-words text-start [.text-message+&]:mt-5\" dir=\"auto\" data-message-author-role=\"assistant\" data-message-id=\"37a9f69b-b160-4aab-beb2-3bf99f223b1c\" data-message-model-slug=\"gpt-4o\">\n<div class=\"flex w-full flex-col gap-1 empty:hidden first:pt-[3px]\">\n<div class=\"markdown prose w-full break-words dark:prose-invert dark\">\n<p class=\"\" data-start=\"79\" data-end=\"374\">The Toronto Blue Jays haven\u2019t had the smoothest offseason. Fans were hoping for contract extensions for big names like Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Bo Bichette, but the team couldn\u2019t get those deals done. However, they did secure one of their key players for the long haul\u2014catcher Alejandro Kirk.<\/p>\n<p class=\"\" data-start=\"376\" data-end=\"841\">Kirk initially signed a one-year, $4.6 million contract to avoid arbitration, but now he\u2019s staying in Toronto for much longer. According to MLB insider Robert Murray, Kirk and the Blue Jays have agreed on a <strong data-start=\"583\" data-end=\"628\">five-year, $58 million contract extension<\/strong>, keeping him with the team through 2030. This deal includes a signing bonus and allows him to enter free agency after his age-31 season, but there are no club options, meaning Toronto is fully committed to him.<\/p>\n<p class=\"\" data-start=\"843\" data-end=\"1277\">While Kirk had a modest performance last season\u2014batting <strong data-start=\"899\" data-end=\"927\">.253 with five home runs<\/strong>\u2014he has shown flashes of brilliance. His best year came in <strong data-start=\"986\" data-end=\"994\">2022<\/strong>, when he earned his first <strong data-start=\"1021\" data-end=\"1074\">All-Star selection and won a Silver Slugger Award<\/strong>. Over his career, Kirk has maintained a <strong data-start=\"1115\" data-end=\"1170\">.264 batting average with 36 home runs and 187 RBIs<\/strong>. So far this spring, he\u2019s looking solid, hitting <strong data-start=\"1220\" data-end=\"1274\">.302 with two home runs and eight RBIs in 17 games<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"\" data-start=\"1279\" data-end=\"1569\">Kirk\u2019s new contract places him <strong data-start=\"1310\" data-end=\"1356\">fifth among MLB catchers in total earnings<\/strong>, behind only Sean Murphy, Salvador Perez, J.T. Realmuto, and Will Smith. While the Blue Jays still face uncertainty with Guerrero\u2019s future beyond 2025, they now have long-term stability at the catcher position.<\/p>\n<p class=\"\" data-start=\"1571\" data-end=\"1902\">This extension comes as Kirk takes on a bigger role behind the plate. He spent the offseason training in Mexico, preparing to be the team\u2019s full-time catcher\u2014a role he previously shared with Danny Jansen. Now, with his future in Toronto secured, Kirk is ready to step up and solidify himself as a key part of the Blue Jays\u2019 lineup.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Toronto Blue Jays haven\u2019t had the smoothest offseason. Fans were hoping for contract extensions for big names like Vladimir\u2026<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":294,"featured_media":63745,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[36],"tags":[15376],"class_list":["post-63744","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sports","tag-toronto-blue-jays"],"reading_time":"2 min read","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/usa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/63744","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/usa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/usa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/usa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/294"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/usa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=63744"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/usa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/63744\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/usa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/63745"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/usa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=63744"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/usa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=63744"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/usa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=63744"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}