Blue Jays Acquire Tyler Heineman In Trade With Pirates
Tyler Heineman is back in blue.
The Blue Jays re-acquired the veteran catcher on Sunday, sending infielder Vinny Capra to the Pirates in a trade. Heineman has been added to Toronto's 40-man roster and optioned to Triple-A Buffalo with Jordan Luplow removed from the 40-man to make room.
Heineman appeared in 10 games with the Jays last season, hitting .267 with a .667 OPS. He was claimed off waivers by the Pirates in May and played 52 more games with Pittsburgh in 2022, finishing the year with a .544 OPS and nine RBI.
The 31-year-old Heineman grades above average as both a framer and thrower behind the plate. He ranked 20th in baseball by pop time in 2022 and 15th in catcher framing runs, per Baseball Savant. He'll join Rob Brantly with the Bisons to enhance Toronto's catching depth behind Alejandro Kirk and Danny Jansen.
Capra, heading to Pittsburgh in the swap, re-signed with Toronto on a minor-league deal this offseason. He was in contention for one of the Blue Jays' final spots out of camp, losing out to outfielder Nathan Lukes. Capra hit .167 in 17 games with the Bisons to start the year.
Mitch Bannon is a baseball reporter for Sports Illustrated covering the Toronto Blue Jays and their minor league affiliates.Twitter: @MitchBannon