It’s the extension Jays fans have been waiting for all spring, the Blue Jays have signed…Alejandro Kirk to a 5-year extension. Obviously, the talk of the spring has been Vladdy and his lack of an extension, but signing Kirk to a multi-year contract is a big deal. The contract is for 5 years, worth $58M and will start next year. Kirk, who was going to be a free agent after next season, is now locked up through his age 31 season. He has been a core piece of this team for the last few seasons, but even more so now with the recent departure of catching partner Danny Jansen in the offseason. Kirk is now “the guy” at the catching position, and with little to no catching depth in the minors, it was paramount that they find a way to keep him in a Jays uniform for the foreseeable future.
While he hasn’t been able to replicate his 2022 season where he was an All-Star and Silver Slugger Award winner, there is a significant amount of internal optimism that Kirk will bounce back this season. Both Ross Atkins and Mark Shapiro have spoken highly about Kirk this spring and believe he will have a much better 2025. They may be on to something because Kirk had a really good spring training. He hit .302 and has been driving the ball a lot more and with more power. He has always been a strong contact hitter, but the exit velocity on some of the balls he’s hit is what has been eye-popping and will hopefully be a positive sign for things to come.
On the defensive side, Kirk has been one of the best defensive catchers in the game. He was a Gold Glove finalist last year, and since 2022, he leads all of catchers in defensive runs saved, third in blocking, and fourth in framing. He has become a guy that pitchers love throwing to, and while his defensive numbers aren’t ones you will see on a nightly basis in the box score, they are extremely important to not just the success of the pitcher he’s catching, but to the team overall.
Such strong defensive catchers are hard to come by, let alone ones with the offensive upside that Kirk has. If he can get back to being something close to what he was in 2022 with the bat, this contract will look like a steal for the Jays. This extension is just the third one handed out to a player in the Atkins/Shapiro era, and while Jays fans are hoping ones will follow for Guerrero and Bichette, this is still a great piece of business and give the Jays a key piece of their roster for the next five years.