The Toronto Blue Jays won’t have catcher Brandon Valenzuela in the lineup for the series finale against the Chicago Cubs on Sunday.
Toronto put Valenzuela batting cleanup on Saturday, which was his first time hitting fourth in the MLB. Yet, a day after batting fourth, he’s out of the lineup as the Blue Jays will have All-Star catcher Alejandro Kirk behind the plate.
The Blue Jays lineup is as follows:
- G. Springer DH
- V. Guerrero Jr. 1B
- K. Okamoto 3B
- A. Kirk C
- D. Varsho CF
- E. Clement SS
- D. Schneider 2B
- J. Sánchez LF
- M. Straw RF
Along with Valenzuela sitting, Gold Glove shortstop Andres Gimenez is out of the lineup, as are outfielders Nathan Lukes and Yohendrick Pinango. Toronto is facing a left-hander in Shota Imanaga, which is why the lefties like Gimenez, Lukes, and Pinango are out.
And, with Kirk getting Saturday off, it made sense for him to be back in the lineup and for Valenzuela to sit, but it comes a day after he hit cleanup. On Saturday, Valenzuela went 1-for-4.
Blue Jays Manager on Lineups With Kirk & Valenzuela
Toronto began the year with Kirk and Tyler Heineman as their catchers, but after an injury to Kirk, Valenzuela came up and took the job.
Valenzuela has not only been stellar defensively, but his bat has been great. That led to Heineman being DFA’d and Valenzuela remaining on the roster.
However, Blue Jays manager John Schneider said there have been talks to get both Kirk and Valenzuela in the lineup.
“It kind of involves multiple people. For one, he got a chance to play regularly here, which is good,” Schneider said on Blair & Barker. “The development part, if Kirky wasn’t injured, we don’t know where he’s at, he’s playing every day in Triple-A or somewhere. His role will be switched a little bit, in terms of how much he’s catching. If he’s swinging the bat the way he is, it’s tough to not. It’s tough to not get him behind the plate and DH Kirk. We have put a plan in place to put George in the outfield and make that an option and rotate the DH spot.”
However, both Valenzuela and Kirk won’t be in the lineup in the series finale against the Cubs on Sunday.
Toronto Looking to Get Back to .500
The Blue Jays can win the series against the Cubs and get back to .500 with a win on Sunday.
Toronto rallied for a thrilling comeback 8-6 win, as the Blue Jays scored eight runs in the seventh and eighth innings to win.
“I love the way they battled,” Schneider said. “Yesterday’s game sucked. We get run out of here pretty good, then you get down 5-0 after the homer from Pete [Crow-Armstrong]. But they’re not going to quit, and today was a good one.”
Toronto is starting to play much better baseball and is holding onto a Wild Card spot. The Blue Jays are also just six games back of the Tampa Bay Rays for second in the AL East and nine back of the New York Yankees for the top spot.
Blue Jays Make Brandon Valenzuela Decision Before Cubs Series Finale