The Toronto Blue Jays continue to reshape their catching depth as they balance immediate major league needs with the long-term development of younger talent throughout the organization.
With Alejandro Kirk returning from a prolonged injury to reestablish his place behind the plate, the team has seen young backup Brandon Valenzuela continue to carve out a larger role in the majors. And that means the organizational opportunities down the line have become increasingly limited for other catchers in the system.
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That reality came to a head for one young backstop in the system last week when the Blue Jays moved on from four-year Minnesota Twins prospect Patrick Winkel. The franchise released him from the Double-A affiliate New Hampshire Fisher Cats shortly after signing him, according to the official transaction log.
The timing of Winkel’s release comes as Valenzuela has become the team’s clear backup behind Kirk in a breakout season.
“Since debuting his new mechanics on April 30, he’s hit .265/.355/.470 and cut his strikeout rate nearly in half, to just 23%,” FanGraphs’ Brendan Gawlowski wrote of Valenzuela’s breakout. “These are signs that Valenzuela has, at the very least, achieved the future hit tool grade from his offseason report; there might even be another gear in him.”
Those offensive improvements have dramatically changed the outlook for one of Toronto’s more intriguing young catchers. Long viewed as a defense-first prospect, Valenzuela has begun showing the type of offensive consistency that could allow him to contribute regularly at the major league level and it seems to be changing the Blue Jays’ depth plans.
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Toronto has already started finding additional ways to get Valenzuela’s bat into the lineup, and his offensive surge has made him a viable candidate for some designated hitter reps moving forward. That experiment worked well earlier this month as George Springer returned to an outfield role.
“…Valenzuela could see an uptick in plate appearances in the second half of the regular season if he sees more time as the designated hitter or as the catcher in games in which Alejandro Kirk serves as the DH,” CBS Sports reported.
That flexibility makes Valenzuela increasingly valuable to the Blue Jays and seems to have settled any questions about the team’s depth at the catcher position.
The Fisher Cats released catcher Adam Hackenberg earlier this month. With Valenzuela’s offensive breakout creating legitimate optimism about his long-term future and Kirk continuing to handle the starting catching duties, the Blue Jays appear comfortable reshaping their depth chart. Winkel’s release reflects the difficult roster decisions that often accompany the emergence of a promising young player, particularly at one of baseball’s most demanding positions.
