Blue Jays place C Alejandro Kirk (thumb) on IL

The Toronto Blue placed catcher Alejandro Kirk on the 10-day injured list Saturday with a fractured left thumb and recalled catcher Brandon Valenzuela from Triple-A Buffalo.

Kirk took a foul ball off his glove during Friday's game against the Chicago White Sox and had to depart. He was 3-for-20 (.150) with a home run and two RBIs in five games to start the season.

In seven major league seasons, all with Toronto, Kirk is a career .267 hitter with 52 home runs and 265 RBIs in 569 games and was an American League All-Star in 2022 and 2025.

Valenzuela, 25, is being called up to the major leagues for the first time.

Acquired in a trade with the San Diego Padres last year, Valenzuela batted .304 with one home run and five RBIs in 11 spring training games for Toronto. He was 3-for-15 with a home run and four RBIs in four games with Buffalo.