Blue Jays lose Jansen to finger injury but Moreno's debut still on hold
The Toronto Blue Jays have been one of the hottest teams in baseball in recent weeks, winning 10 of their past 12 games.
A major reason for that success has been the production behind the plate, with catchers Alejandro Kirk and Danny Jansen both doing a lot of damage with the bat. One half of that tandem will be out of commission for the foreseeable future, with Jansen landing on the injured list Tuesday with a fractured finger after getting hit by a pitch during Monday's game against the Kansas City Royals.
It's the second injury of the season for Jansen, who was sidelined for over a month with an oblique injury he suffered on April 10. When he has been healthy he's shown signs of a breakout campaign, albeit in a very small sample. He owns a .915 OPS with seven home runs in just 19 games in 2022.
The Blue Jays are optimistic Jansen's absence won't be a long one, with general manager Ross Atkins describing the fracture as a "stable break," per MLB.com's Keegan Matheson.
Danny Jansen has a fractured bone on his left hand, near the pinky finger.
It’s a “stable” break, says GM Ross Atkins, so this is expected to be on the shorter side of a fracture recovery.
No Moreno yet… Collins is up from AAA. #BlueJays— Keegan Matheson (@KeeganMatheson) June 7, 2022
With Jansen on the shelf, Kirk will handle the majority of reps behind the plate after seeing an uptick in usage as the club's designated hitter. Kirk is building a strong case to play in the All-Star Game, slashing .306/.389/.465 for an .854 OPS with five home runs.
Catcher Zack Collins has been promoted from triple-A to take Jansen's spot on the active roster, though he's not the player many Blue Jays fans were hoping to see.
Gabriel Moreno, Toronto's top prospect, has been playing very well in triple-A with a .323 batting average in 35 games this year. The Blue Jays aren't quite ready to give Moreno a shot in the majors, though that opportunity can't be far off if the young backstop continues swinging the bat the way he is right now.
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