Alejandro Kirk gave the Toronto Blue Jays a rare bright spot on an offense that struggled all season.
The catcher hit .278 with a .351 on-base percentage and a .415 slugging percentage. Kirk hit 10 home runs, drove in 43 runs and scored 26 times in 79 games. He collected 77 hits, including eight doubles and drew 33 walks against 38 strikeouts.
Injuries limited Kirk to 79 of Toronto’s 162 games. After a long season, Kirk is spending the offseason with his family.
He reposted photos from a Disney World trip on his Instagram story. The trip included his wife, Sofia Castañeda and their daughter, Emilia. The couple welcomed their daughter on Feb. 28, 2023.
Amid that news, what made headlines was trade chatter surrounding him.
Alejandro Kirk Labelled as a Trade Chip
Trade talk about Kirk surfaced Oct. 11. The Blue Bird Territory podcast posted a clip that day on X. The show features The Athletic’s Mitch Bannon, former Blue Jays outfielder Kevin Pillar and former pitcher Ricky Romero.
The post called Kirk “one of Toronto’s most VALUABLE trade chips.” In the clip, Pillar wondered about Kirk’s market value after injuries cost him much of the season. The clip spread online and some fans took it as a trade pitch.
Should Alejandro Kirk Be Traded?
The short answer is absolutely not. Bannon backed that view on X the same day. He wrote that he, Pillar and Romero all agreed Toronto should keep Kirk.
“This clip has gained some misguided traction, so to be clear, Kevin, Ricky and I all agreed the Jays shouldn’t trade Kirk,” he said. “We were more discussing why there’s been trade talk about him. In fact, I said he’s the exact mold of hitter the Jays covet, not a potential trade guy.”
The case against a trade starts with the contract. Toronto signed Kirk to a five-year, $58 million extension in March 2025. The deal covers 2026 through 2030 and averages $11.6 million per year.
Kirk also produces. His 114 wRC+ in 2026 topped his career mark of 111. He posted that mark despite missing more than two months. He walked in 10.5 percent of his plate appearances and struck out in 12.1 percent.
His defense adds to the case. In 2025, Kirk tied for third in MLB in fielding run value, with 21. He led all catchers in blocks above average and finished as a Gold Glove finalist.
Kirk also delivers in October. The two-time All-Star hit five home runs in the 2025 postseason. That ties the most by a catcher in one postseason. One was a go-ahead, three-run homer in World Series Game 3.
Toronto cannot afford to lose a productive bat. The Blue Jays’ offense was one of baseball’s worst this year. Trading a 27-year-old catcher on a long-term deal would deepen that problem.
Blue Jays’ Alejandro Kirk Shares Offseason News Amid Trade Chatter