Blue Jays finalize deal with Kirk

Both Kirk and General Manager Ross Atkins are scheduled to speak with Toronto media tomorrow.

As was originally reported, the deal is for five years and $58MM and doesn't appear to involve any deferrals. The deal makes a Kirk a Blue Jay through the end of the 2030 season, when he will be 32.

At just over $11MM per year, it feels like the Blue Jays finally got something right with one of their homegrown players. And while there is still no deal for either Bo or Vlad, there appears to be some movement on the latter, with reports even suggesting a deal could be reached by the end of the week.

Still, Kirk may just be the most important member of this team, and investing in a catcher long-term says something about Toronto's commitment to Kirk, as well as how much they value him. The catching position is a notoriously volatile one for any team.

Kirk now becomes the first the Blue Jays player to have a contract past the 2030 season.

Kirk, who has become an elite defensive catcher, whose pitch framing metrics are among the highest in the league, started to find himself offensively late in the year last season, after the Blue Jays traded away his longtime platoon partner Danny Jansen.

Kirk continued that pace in spring too and then some. He has more hard hit balls and much better overall numbers than he did one year ago. Now that he will play upwards of 110 games, look for his offensive numbers to rise.

This is a big day in Blue Jays land.