Former Giants Battery to Play Key Roles in Blue Jays 2025 Pennant Bid
The San Francisco Giants are once again watching the playoffs from the outside in. Frequent end-of-season disappointment has been common in recent years. While the MLB Postseason spotlight will not be on the Bay, there are still players or teams for Giants fans to cheer on in October. A prime target may be former Giants players who have found success elsewhere.
One of the best examples is the Toronto Blue Jays, who clinched the AL East Division for the first time since 2015. Canada’s team has both pitcher Kevin Gausman and catcher Tyler Heineman. Giants fans certainly have fond memories of Gausman in his two-year stint as a member of the Giants in 2020 and 2021, especially his career year in 2021 when he made the All-Star team and was an ace alongside Logan Webb. Heineman was more of a blip on the radar, as he was one of four Giants catchers during the shortened 2020 season, along with Joey Bart, Chadwick Tromp, and Rob Brantly.
In his time with the Blue Jays, Gausman has been a steady presence in their rotation. Since he arrived in 2022, he has contributed a total of 48 wins and pitched over 170 innings in each season. This year, he led Toronto’s pitching with 16 quality starts and racked up 189 strikeouts in 193 innings pitched. In doing so, he also started 32 games, the most on the team. When he starts, Gausman generally gives the Blue Jays a chance to win, which is no mystery to Giants fans.
Seeing Heineman on the Blue Jays came as a surprise. This is his third stint with Toronto, as he previously played for them in 2022 and 2023, but bounced around with other teams before rejoining them for the tail end of the season in 2024. As the Blue Jays' backup catcher, he lands in the 80th percentile in the catching categories of blocks above average, caught stealing above average, framing, and pop time. Giants fans might remember Heineman as a solid defensive catcher amidst the uncertainty of defensive options behind the dish. In 61 games this season, he owns a batting average of .289, with three home runs and 20 runs batted in, all career highs for him; something Giants fans did not see in his sole season with the team. However, Giants fans know that it takes special performances from role players to make a deep run into the postseason.
Gausman threw a complete game shutout against the Houston Astros with Heineman behind the plate in mid-September, a sign that both are more than capable of contributing when the lights are bright. Though he struggled in his final two starts of the regular season, Gausman will look to return to the top form he was in late August and the first half of September for his start in the American League Divisional Series. As for Heineman, he will likely come off the bench as a pinch hitter or as a late-inning defensive replacement, should Alejandro Kirk need to rest in preparation for the next game. Regardless of what happens in the AL Wild Card, the Blue Jays will be playing an AL East Division foe, similar to what the Giants and their fans encountered in 2021.
