Tyler Heineman has been a black hole in Blue Jays' lineup

Toronto Blue Jays catcher Tyler Heineman. Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images

Tyler Heineman has been a black hole in Blue Jays' lineup

By Vanessa Serrao | Last updated May 3, 2026 9:43 PM ET

A black hole has been present in the Toronto Blue Jays lineup, and the culprit is catcher Tyler Heineman. Following a 2025 breakout season, the journeyman catcher batted .289 with three home runs and a .777 OPS across 56 games.

He was a reliable backup catcher who exceeded expectations, compiling a 120 wRC+. He surprised everyone with his offense, but this hasn't been the case this season. The Blue Jays have already been in tough spots this season, such as having to take Jeff Hoffman out of the closer role.

Tyler Heineman's early-season struggles

Across 20 games this season, Heineman has struggled batting .176 with a .398 OPS. He hasn't hit any extra-base hits and doesn't have any RBI. Heineman and rookie catcher Brandon Valenzuela have been sharing the catcher role with Alejandro Kirk on the IL.

But Valenzuela has turned into the 2025 Heineman. Coming up with big at-bats, including a massive three-run home run to give the Blue Jays an 11-4 lead over the Minnesota Twins on Saturday. Valenzuela has three home runs on the season, along with six RBI and nine hits across 44 plate appearances. It's made many question whether Valenzuela should be sent down when Kirk returns.

The Blue Jays were in a good position to capitalize on the Twins as they lost starter Joe Ryan to elbow soreness in the top of the first inning after only facing two batters. However, it ended in a 4-3 loss for the Blue Jays.

Heineman was removed from Sunday's game in the bottom of the sixth inning following his inability to produce with the bases loaded and two outs.

John Schneider called it a “manager’s decision” to remove Tyler Heineman when he did. There was no injury. Sounds like there’s a bit more to this, so we’ll see here soon. #BlueJays
— Keegan Matheson (@KeeganMatheson) May 3, 2026

He didn't demonstrate good plate discipline, swinging at the first pitch and hitting into a weak pop fly. Manager John Schneider did not offer much on why he was taken out of the game, but only mentioned that it wasn't because of an injury.

Vanessa Serrao

Serrao is a freelance baseball writer who has covered all MLB teams, with particular expertise on the Toronto Blue Jays. She is a member of the Internet Baseball Writers Association of America.

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