John Gibbons: Alejandro Kirk and Danny Jansen are the best catcher combo in baseball
Toronto’s dynamic catcher duo of Alejandro Kirk and Danny Jansen is one of the best in baseball according to former Jays manager John Gibbons. Gibby is back with another episode of 3 Up, 3 Down, as he explains why Kirk and Jansen are so important to the Toronto Blue Jays.
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Two frontline guys
Baseball’s regular season is a 162-game marathon and it’s just not reasonable to expect players to perform at a top level every day. That’s why Gibbons says he thinks it’s so valuable to have two catchers who are legitimate frontline players.
“I guess the benefit of that is you keep them rested,” Gibbons said.
That one-two punch at catcher allowed Toronto to keep both players rested last year, which proved crucial for the Jays in light of Jansen’s injury issues, according to Gibbons.
Jansen had a strong start to the 2022 season before an oblique injury in April sidelined him for over a month. He was placed on the IL agains in June when a 96 mph fractured his left pinky. But Jansen was effective when he played, finishing the season batting .260 with 15 home runs and 44 RBIs in 72 games.
One of the biggest benefits to having Kirk on the roster, according to Gibby, is the option to use him as a designated hitter.
Kirk had a breakout season in 2022, batting .285 with career-highs in homer runs (14), RBIs (63) and games played (139). He was named an All-Star for the first time in his career and he ended the season by winning his first career Silver Slugger award.
Flexibility
The flexibility of having two catchers who are good enough to be everyday players is another bonus according to Gibbons.
“You’re not throwing a guy in there that you don’t expect to get anything out of just to give your frontline guy a break.”
Kirk played almost twice as many games as Jansen last year, but that was strictly a result of Jansen’s injury issues.
So far in 2023, Toronto’s catcher combo have essentially rotated behind the plate. Kirk is batting .241 with two homers and 11 RBIs in 29 games, while Jansen is batting .165 with three homers and 15 RBIs in 25 games.
A defensive guru and a Manoah specialist
Gibby finishes with the major benefit of having both Kirk and Manoah available to the Blue Jays, saying Kirk is Alek Manoah’s special catcher and Jansen is a defensive guru.
“They’re both not just good offensive players, they’re both really good defensive players so you can’t lose.”
The relationship and chemistry between catchers and pitchers is arguably the most valuable asset between two individual players in any team sport. Kirk can be looked at as one of the key factors for Manoah’s development into a legitimate ace pitcher in the majors. Manoah’s first All-Star campaign in 2022 saw the 25-year-old produce a 16-7 record with a 2.24 ERA in 196 2/3 innings with 180 strikeouts.
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