The Blue Jays’ Next Backup Catcher Is Nearing MLB-Ready

While the starting catching role is locked up, Brandon Valenzuela has the opportunity this spring to fight for the backup position. And as a Mexican catcher, he’s got a pretty strong guide in front of him.

Originally signed as a 16-year-old by San Diego in 2017, Valenzuela has never really been a top prospect for the Padres. While the team had promoted him year by year through the minors, and after a strong start to his 2024 season (a year in which he won Texas League Player of the Month in June), a promotion to Triple-A El Paso in August yielded some shoddy numbers over his 27 games there (.195/.292/.234 slash).

Unfortunately, he was sent down to Double-A to start 2025 and stalled out there in San Diego’s system. So for the Padres, with the emergence of other catchers in the organization (specifically Ethan Salas), he became expendable.

It eventually led to the Toronto Blue Jays acquiring him at the 2025 MLB trade deadline in exchange for Will Wagner.

Now 25 years old, the backstop is clearly someone that the Blue Jays view as an important piece, as the team added him to the 40-man roster on November 6.

While that move was more to keep him from entering minor-league free agency, they have kept him on the roster amongst the flurry of moves they’ve made this winter, proving they see a legit opportunity for him to get some MLB action soon.

Who knows, he might even get the opportunity to learn at the MLB level with Alejandro Kirk, another Mexican catcher.

Brandon Valenzuela May Finally Be Getting His Shot

Coming into the 2026 season near the back end of Blue Jays prospect rankings across the industry, the scouting report on Valenzuela is pretty simple. Similar to Tyler Heineman (his internal competition), he’s a switch-hitter who isn’t particularly strong offensively from either side of the plate.

Although, he did hit significantly better against left-handed pitching last season, highlighted by a .261/.320/.405 slash line against southpaws versus a .210/.305/.375 slash against righties.

Another downside was Valenzuela’s high strikeout numbers — 115 in 113 games in 2025– but he does have a bit more power than Heineman, as he mashed 15 homers last year, including three in his 26 games with the Bisons.

Over his career, 15 homers is a career high, and he was only hitting .229/.313/.387 with a 104 wRC+ in Double-A before the trade to Toronto. So, expecting much offensively from him is going to be a stretch.

However, catcher is one of the few positions where a player can get away with being a league-average (or below) hitter if they make up for it defensively. That appears to be the case for Valenzuela.

It’s evident from his .224/.309/.383 slash between Double-A and Triple-A last year that Valenzuela isn’t going to win a Silver Slugger any time soon, but his work defensively is a definite strong suit.

Last season, between Triple-A Buffalo and Double-A San Antonio, he threw out 33 of 98 would-be base stealers (34%), a number that would’ve put him in fifth place in MLB.

2025 wasn’t an exception, either, as he’s thrown out 32% over his minor-league career. Toronto takes strong defensive ability from their catchers very seriously, so his strengths very much balance out with his flaws.

One positive for Valenzuela is his experience with a number of prospects in the organization, specifically Trey Yesavage. Valenzuela caught for Yesavage in all but two of the righty’s games for Triple-A Buffalo. He also has some experience at first base (68 games over his career), providing useful depth in case of emergency.

Another case for Valenzuela is the extremely low likelihood that Tyler Heineman replicates his 2025 season. While his .289/.361/.416 looks amazing on paper, he was one of the luckier players in baseball last season, evidenced by his .215 xBA, .273 xwOBA, and .293 xSLG.

If Heineman struggles in 2026, the team might be inclined to make the swap, but risking losing a catcher who most of the pitchers on the staff have a level of familiarity with (and someone who’ll likely get claimed on waivers) is a last-ditch option for Toronto.

Looking at it realistically, in 2025, the Blue Jays ran into problems when neither of their catchers were on the active roster, resulting in eight unmemorable Ali Sánchez games. Having depth is an important thing, so even if Valenzuela doesn’t make the Opening Day roster, they’ll use one of his minor-league options, and he’s the first guy up in case of emergency.

If the Kirk-Heineman duo stays strong from March through August, a September call-up when rosters expand also makes sense, giving the Jays a reliable third option.