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Alejandro Kirk Blue Jays

A handful of Toronto Blue Jays players received positive injury updates, including All-Star catcher Alejandro Kirk.

The Blue Jays‘ starting catcher has been out of the lineup since April 3 after he broke his thumb on his catching hand. He has been ramping up his return to training, and now he will be back in Toronto this weekend to check in with the team’s coaches, per Sportnet Blue Jays reporter Arden Zwelling.

According to the scribe, Kirk has been catching bullpens and live batting practises in Dunedin at the Blue Jays’ minor-league training complex, indicating he is progressing nicely in his return to the team’s lineup, though we do not have a date yet on when he will come back.

“Alejandro Kirk (thumb) will be in Toronto this weekend to check in with Blue Jays staff and continue to ramp up his hitting progression He’s been catching bullpens and live BP’s regularly in Dunedin,” Zwelling wrote on X.

Shane Bieber Progressing Well

Blue Jays starting pitcher Shane Bieber has not pitched at all this season due to an elbow injury, but he will start a rehab assignment for the baby Jays, to help him build up his arm in an effort to join the big league ballclub in the next few months.

“Shane Bieber (elbow) is scheduled to begin a rehab assignment on Monday, throwing two innings for the Florida Complex League Blue Jays. He’ll build up volume from there, shooting for three innings his next time out,” added Zwelling.

Nathan Lukes Close to Returning

Blue Jays outfielder Nathan Lukes, who has been out since April 24 due to a hamstring strain, is very close to returning to the team’s lineup. This weekend, he will continue his rehab games in Dunedin for the Class-A Blue Jays, and then he will return to Toronto on Monday. If all goes well, then the team will activate him from the IL, but if not, then he will go to Triple-A Buffalo to get in some more reps before he gets activated next week. Either way, Lukes is very close to returning.

“Nathan Lukes (hamstring) has a scheduled day off on Friday — he’ll be back in the Dunedin Blue Jays lineup on Saturday and Sunday He’ll travel to Toronto on Monday to see if he’s ready to be activated from IL or needs another game or two at triple-A,” Zwelling reported.

The Blue Jays enter this weekend’s series against the Pittsburgh Pirates with a 23-27 record in the first 50 games of the season. They are 11 games back of the Tampa Bay Rays in the American League East, so it’s going to be difficult for the team to defend its division title this season. But they are just 1.5 games back of the third Wild Card spot in the American League, which has been weak this year overall as a conference. As long as the Blue Jays remain in striking distance of a Wild Card spot, when the team gets its injured players back in the starting lineup, they will have a realistic shot of making a playoff run, despite what has been an overall tough start to the season.