MLB Player News

The Blue Jays recalled Valenzuela from Triple-A Buffalo on Saturday, Hazel Mae of Sportsnet reports.

The 25-year-old will join the big club for the first time in his career to provide depth at catcher while Alejandro Kirk (thumb) is on the injured list. Valenzuela has slashed .206/.295/.374 with four homers, 16 RBI and 11 runs scored across 122 plate appearances in Triple-A since joining the Blue Jays organization at last year's trade deadline.

Quero isn't in the lineup for Saturday's game versus Toronto.

Quero will grab a seat on the bench Saturday after beginning the series 2-for-4 in Friday's win. Reese McGuire will get the nod behind home plate and bat eighth.

The Blue Jays placed Kirk on the 10-day injured list Saturday with a left thumb fracture, Hazel Mae of Sportsnet reports.

Kirk took a foul tip off his left thumb while catching in the 10th inning of Friday's contest. He doesn't have a return timeline in place yet, per Mae, but some clarity should come after he visits a doctor Monday to determine whether surgery is required. In the meantime, Tyler Heineman will take over as Toronto's starting catcher, and Brandon Valenzuela will come up from Triple-A Buffalo to provide depth.

Valenzuela might get promoted from Triple-A Buffalo after Alejandro Kirk took a foul tip off his thumb during Friday's extra-inning loss to the White Sox, Keegan Matheson of MLB.com reports.

The Blue Jays play an afternoon game Saturday, so even if X-rays on Kirk's thumb come back negative, he likely won't be available. That puts Tyler Heineman in line to get the start, but Valenzuela is the logical candidate to back him up for however long Kirk is sidelined. Valenzuela is batting .200 (3-for-15) through four games for Buffalo with a homer, four RBI and a 2:3 BB:K.

Dingler went 1-for-4 with a two-run home run in Friday's 4-0 win over the Cardinals.

Dingler mashed his second home run of the year in the fourth inning with a runner on, and that gave starter Framber Valdez more than enough run support. The Detroit catcher has put a slow, injury-delayed start to spring training behind him, as he's hit the ground running with a .300/.364/.650 slash line and seven RBI through six games to begin the regular season.

Teel (hamstring) will begin hitting off a tee either April 7 or 8, MLB.com reports.

Teel suffered a hamstring injury during the World Baseball Classic and has been able to resume running for roughly the last two weeks. However, he'll still require a rehab assignment and is hoping to return by mid-to-late April.

Contreras went 1-for-3 with a solo home run and a walk in Friday's 5-2 win over the Padres.

Contreras hit what proved to be the game-winning home run off Michael King in the sixth inning. The veteran has gone just 4-for-23 to start the year but appears to be finding his groove, hitting safely in each of the past three games. He's tallied 20-plus homers in six of his 10 major-league seasons, including four of the past five, and is coming off a 2025 campaign in which he posted a career-best 80 RBI.

Kirk was removed from Friday's game against the White Sox after being struck in the left thumb by a foul tip while catching, Blake Murphy of Sportsnet.ca reports.

Kirk went 1-for-4 with a double and an RBI before departing during the bottom of the 10th inning after the foul tip. The Blue Jays should provide an update in the near future, but for now, the 27-year-old backstop should be considered day-to-day.

Jensen is not in the lineup for Friday's game against the Brewers.

Jensen had to be scratched from Thursday's lineup against the Twins after he overslept, and he remains out of the lineup Friday even as the Brewers are sending a righty in Chad Patrick to the bump. He entered Thursday's game late on defense and presumably will be available off the bench again Friday. Starling Marte is at designated hitter and batting sixth for the Royals on Friday.

Jensen was not included in Thursday's lineup against the Twins because he overslept and arrived late to the park, Sam McDowell of The Kansas City Star reports.

Jensen was a late scratch from the starting lineup in the team's 5-1 loss to the Twins in the series finale Thursday, which is now understood to be because he overslept. Jensen explained that he didn't wake up to his alarm and that he didn't have an excuse, ultimately feeling like he let his teammates and coaches down. The 22-year-old said he'll learn from his mistake and that it won't happen again. Through five games so far this year, Jensen has gone 2-for-16 with a two-run home run, a walk and eight strikeouts.