Alejandro Kirk hoping to build on splashy Blue Jays debut after losing weight, improving mobility

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This article was published 31/03/2021 (1683 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

NEW YORK—It was a happy come-by-chance that Alejandro Kirk had his kinfolk in his crib when he learned that he’d made the opening day roster.

Charlie Montoyo was on the blower with the news. Actually, the skipper was calling from the dugout during a game earlier this week where Kirk had the day off.

The Call. What fills the fantasies of every aspiring baller. And while the 21-year-old catcher from Tijuana got his feet nicely wet across nine games late last season — indeed, made quite the splash hitting .375 with one (1) monster home run — this time he’ll come barrelling out of the chute from Day One. So yeah, the rrrring-rrrring from Montoyo put him over the moon.

“I was there with my family at my apartment and so everybody knew at the same time. All the most important people in my life, to know at the same time, it was a great feeling.

“First of all he apologized for the way that he had to give me the news, over the phone. But he also told me that the next day he was going to talk to me, he was going to hug me and congratulate me. It was awesome.’’

Kirk is immensely huggable, even now that he looks less like a stubby beer bottle. (Pity the nickname “Pudge’’ was already taken.) He’ll never be a long-neck, but slimmer and sleeker. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. isn’t the only Blue Jay who reported to the spring training bivouacs with a dramatic weight loss and buffed physique.

“I worked very, very hard in the spring and the off-season and I showed up in shape to camp,’’ Kirk told reporters in a Zoom session Wednesday, on the eve of the club’s 2021 launch, at Yankee Stadium no less.

“That was one of the main things that the team was expecting from me.’’

Conditioning is crucial, although the Jays might want to be careful about altering anything in the Kirk package, given that he’s made the jump to The Show so rapidly and pretty seamlessly. Just three years ago he was toiling in the Appalachian League.

But Kirk, with a low centre of gravity on his five-foot-eight frame, likes the cut of his trimmed jib. And not just because weight lost equalled pride gained. The shedding of avoirdupois enhanced his agility too in squat duties.

“I can lose more and my mobility behind the plate will be a lot better,’’ he predicts.

Less heft, claims Kirk, has made him a better hitter too, an assertion somewhat corroborated by Grapefruit League numbers — for what they’re worth — with a slugging percentage of .583 and a pair of round-trippers. “I’ve felt very, very comfortable at the plate,’’ he says. “My hands, they feel quicker now. My lower half feels good too, my legs. It’s everything.’’

What close observers have noted about Kirk is that he has a preternatural maturity in the box, exceedingly patient. He mostly sees heat — 57 of 97 pitches delivered to him last year were fastballs, yet he had a minuscule (nine per cent) swing and miss ratio. That’s unusual in a young player.

“One of my strengths, I always try to go out there and hit the ball all over the field. Trying to go middle, oppo, if I have to pull the ball I will. That’s what I think has helped me a lot. Whatever the location of the pitch, I try to go with it.

“Weaknesses? Sometimes I catch myself thinking a little bit too much at the plate. I’ll notice that right away.’’

Interestingly, Kirk says he’s adept at self-coaching, manifested as prompt adjustment at the plate. “If I know that I did something wrong on a pitch, I try to make the adjustment right away on the next pitch. I won’t wait for the next at-bat.’’

An area where Kirk draws strong praise is his growing skill at calling a snappy game. Pitchers have raved about his sync and situational intuition. “I have great communication with all the pitching staff,’’ he avows, of the yin and yang between himself and the man on the mound. Which, of course, plays out mostly non-verbally since his English is sketchy.

“It’s been through the years, with experience, that I really believe I have those instincts,’’ Kirk continues, speaking through an interpreter. “Every year I’ve work hard on that, trying to get better.’’

While Danny Jansen has established that symbiosis with ace Hyun-Jin Ryu — the battery for Game 1 of 162 — Kirk had enjoyed similarly clicking simpatico with Robbie Ray, all but becoming his personal catcher in the ’20 stretch. Montoyo confirmed, however, that Ray will start the season on the IL, with a bruised elbow suffered when he felt down the stairs while carrying his child. Ray, Montoyo added, will definitely not make his next scheduled start in Texas next week either.

Just as, regrettably, Toronto fans will have to wait awhile longer to get a gander at George Springer in blue and white, not quite ready for Blue Jays prime time because of that Grade 2 strain of his left oblique. He joins the IL triage, apparently grumbling all the way.

Given the cascading bad news, it’s heartening that at least the backstop position is hale. Overstuffed, actually. Reese McGuire arrived in Manhattan with the club but it’s likely — Montoyo basically affirmed it — he’ll put on waivers in the coming days. That leaves Riley Adams as catcher on the taxi squad. While Kirk is pushing Jansen for the No. 1 job, if he looks over his shoulder he’ll spot some prospects the Jays are high on, most especially Gabriel Morena.

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Montoyo is vague about how he plans to split the duties between Jansen and Kirk.

“Right now I anticipate both of them catching at different times. The only one thing we know for sure because they’re a pretty good combo together is Danny Jansen and Ryu. Other than that, any catcher can catch anybody at any point on any day.’’

A-okay, says Kirk.

“I’m very happy to be here and very, very excited for opening day. It’s all that I’ve been dreaming and finally it’s happening to me.”

Rosie DiManno is a Toronto-based columnist covering sports and current affairs for the Star. Follow her on Twitter: @rdimanno