Blue Jays place Alejandro Kirk on 10-day IL

The Blue Jays placed catcher/designated hitter Alejandro Kirk on the 10-day injured list in advance of Monday's game in Miami. He’s dealing with a laceration on his left hand. 

Toronto also optioned Bowden Francis to Triple-A Buffalo, recalling reliever Trent Thornton and backstop Tyler Heineman to take the active roster spots.

Kirk took a Jon Gray fastball off his hand during Sunday's loss to the Rangers. He came out of the game, with Danny Jansen hopping in behind the plate. 

While postgame X-rays fortunately didn’t reveal any fractures, Kirk will still need at least a week and a half to recuperate. It halts what has been an uncharacteristically middling offensive season for the right-handed hitter. Kirk is hitting .253/.337/.331 over 202 trips to the plate.

He started the season well, putting up a .274/.418/.387 line through the end of April. Over the past month and a half, he’s managed only a .241/.285/.302 showing. 

Jansen, who’ll get the bulk of the catching reps while Kirk is out, has been on an opposite trajectory. He had a .179/.246/.375 slash through the season’s first month-plus but has found his power stroke with a .235/.286/.506 mark going back to May 1.

Heineman is the only other catcher on the 40-man roster. He’ll get the nod as Jansen’s backup for now. He’s made six MLB appearances since Toronto acquired him from the Pirates at the end of April.