Blue Jays Tyler Heineman Removed After Sixth-Inning At-Bat vs. Twins
blue jays tyler heineman was removed from Sunday’s game against the Minnesota Twins after a sixth-inning at-bat, and John Schneider called it a manager’s decision. Toronto lost 4-3 in Minneapolis, then fell to 16-18 after dropping the finale.
Heineman And Schneider In Minnesota
Heineman faced Taylor Rogers with the bases loaded and two out in the sixth, then did not stay in the game. Brandon Valenzuela took over behind the plate in the inning’s bottom half.
Schneider kept his answer short. “Just manager's decision,” he said after the 4-3 loss, then added, “I'll keep it manager's decision.”
Heineman did not duck his own role in the move. “Just situation, everything that's been going on, and I just didn't get it done,” he said. He also called the at-bat bluntly: “That at-bat was pretty trash.”
Kirk’s Injury Changed Role
The removal landed on a catcher who had already been carrying more of the load since Alejandro Kirk fractured his thumb in April. Heineman has been in a larger role since then, and Sunday’s decision showed Schneider was willing to cut into that work after one at-bat.
The numbers back up why the manager had a quick hook. Heineman is hitting.176/.222/.176 in 21 games, and in his last 10 outings he is 3-for-31 with 10 strikeouts. He put it more directly: “I've been pretty crappy the last, I don't know, 10 games or so.”
The season series ended the same way the game did. Minnesota won it 4-3, and Toronto left Minneapolis with the loss and a catcher who knows the next at-bat will be judged against the last one.
