The Blue Jays introduced that they’ve claimed catcher Tyler Heineman off waivers from the Crimson Sox. Boston had designated him for task just a few days in the past. Catcher Brian Serven has been designated for task by the Jays in a corresponding transfer.
Heineman, 33, clearly has some followers within the Toronto entrance workplace as that is his third stint with the membership. He signed a minor league cope with the Jays going into 2022 and added to the membership’s roster early that yr, although he went to the Pirates on waivers in Could of that season. In April of 2023, the Bucs designated Heineman for task and flipped him to the Jays for utility participant Vinny Capra. That stint lasted till December of final yr, when the Jays put him on waivers and misplaced him to the Mets.
The Mets later designated Heineman for task in January and flipped him to the Crimson Sox for money. Heineman has served as an up-and-down depth catcher for the Sox this yr, however maybe grew to become expendable by Boston buying Danny Jansen to bolster their catching depth, the identical deal that opened some enjoying time behind the plate in Toronto.
Heineman has bounced round fairly a bit in his profession, by no means securing greater than part-time work. He has appeared in 5 massive league seasons however has simply 286 plate appearances in 106 video games over these. He has a mixed batting line of .216/.297/.280 for a wRC+ of 66.
That’s not wonderful manufacturing however his protection tends to be robust. Every of Statcast and Baseball Prospectus have given him constructive grades for his framing, blocking and throwing. FanGraphs additionally grades him as a plus framer and lists a tally of six Defensive Runs Saved in his profession.
It’s additionally doable that there’s a bit extra in his bat, based mostly on his numbers on the farm. From 2019 to the current, he’s hit .279/.372/.432 within the minors for a 107 wRC+, strolling 11.3% of the time and putting out in simply 17% of his plate appearances. That features 51 video games for Triple-A Worcester this yr with Heineman posting a 14.1% stroll price, 16.1% strikeout price, .252/.379/.403 batting line and 111 wRC+.
Maybe the Jays see a path to Heineman offering plus protection and at the very least some enough offense within the majors. He’ll end this season with lower than three years of service time, that means the Jays can theoretically management him for 4 extra years if he carves out a task as backup to Alejandro Kirk. Nevertheless, Heineman will probably be out of choices subsequent yr and can due to this fact be tougher to maintain on the roster.
To make room for Heineman, the Jays are risking dropping Serven. He has appeared in 28 video games for the Jays this yr, largely after the aforementioned Jansen commerce opened up enjoying time alongside Kirk. Serven’s defensive metrics are roughly league common for probably the most half, however he has struck out in 31% of his plate appearances, resulting in a line of .159/.243/.222 and a 38 wRC+. When mixed together with his earlier time with the Rockies, he has now slashed .187/.247/.293 in 299 massive league plate appearances for a 43 wRC+.
The Jays will put him on waivers within the coming days. It’s doable he might appeal to curiosity based mostly on his minor league numbers. He has hit .243/.325/.435 for an 87 wRC+ courting again to 2021. That features a .265/.390/.379 line and 111 wRC+ in 40 Triple-A video games this yr. He nonetheless has one choice season remaining after this one and fewer than two years of service time.
