Blue Jays catcher Danny Jansen needed to make an early exit from yesterday’s recreation as a consequence of what was ultimately revealed as a fracture within the knuckle of his proper center finger. Throughout an at-bat within the sixth inning, Rockies left fielder Nolan Jones fouled a ball into Jansen’s uncovered proper hand, leaving the catcher in apparent discomfort. Jansen remained behind the plate for the remainder of the inning, however Alejandro Kirk pinch-hit for Jansen within the high of the seventh.
Tyler Heineman has already been referred to as up from Triple-A as a minimum of a precautionary measure whereas Jansen undergoes additional imaging and checks, as supervisor John Schneider advised Sportsnet’s Ben Nicholson-Smith and different reporters. Given the character of the harm, it’s laborious to think about that Jansen will be capable of keep away from the 10-day injured record, leaving the Jays with out their beginning catcher for a minimum of a few of their playoff push. Kirk will take many of the begins within the interim, with Heineman maybe getting solely sparing backup obligation.
Jansen has hit .228/.312/.474 with 17 homers over 301 plate appearances this season, translating to a 115 wRC+ that ranks third amongst all certified Blue Jays hitters. This provides to Jansen’s resume as one of many extra quietly productive catchers in baseball, although as a consequence of accidents and splitting time with Kirk and different Toronto backstops, he has solely amassed 754 PA for the reason that begin of the 2021 season. This season, Jansen missed a number of weeks as a consequence of a groin pressure, and has maybe been lucky to keep away from a hand harm till now contemplating how often Jansen is hit by pitches (10) or the pure danger and wear-and-tear of catching obligation.
His harm resume consists of one other finger fracture final season, which saved Jansen for just a little over a month. That exact fracture was close to Jansen’s left pinky finger, and given the vast variance and severity of finger-related issues, it’s far to too quickly to inform if Jansen’s present situation is wherever as extreme, or how lengthy he is likely to be out of motion.
Consistency has been an issue all season for Toronto’s lineup, even earlier than Bo Bichette and Matt Chapman went onto the IL earlier this week. Dropping Jansen can be one other important hit, although Nicholson-Smith writes that Bichette and Chapman have a minimum of been figuring out on the sphere, creating hope that both participant is likely to be again at or shortly after the 10-day minimal absence.
