MINNEAPOLIS -- Tyler Heineman was removed from Sunday’s game against the Twins after popping up with the bases loaded to end a rally in the sixth, but he’s not injured.
“Manager’s decision,” John Schneider said, and that’s as far as he wanted to go.
“I’ll keep it to manager’s decision. Heineman’s in there,” Schneider added.
This was Schneider’s way of encouraging the media to get the answer from Heineman, himself, instead of airing out his catcher in front of the camera.
In what was one of the biggest at-bats of the game, Heineman swung on a first-pitch sweeper from Twins reliever Taylor Rogers, who had just hit Andrés Giménez with his last pitch to load the bases. The sweeper was up and in on Heineman, leading to a harmless pop fly into shallow left field.
Whether it was the swing decision itself, something Schneider saw afterwards or a culmination of a dozen small things, the manager made the call between innings. At first, an injury felt likelier, given that Brandon Valenzuela already could have been a sensible pinch-hit option in that big spot with the bases loaded. Heineman has been dealing with a bad back early in the season, but he said following the 4-3 loss that it’s “not enough to warrant what’s gone on.”
Speaking at his locker just minutes after Schneider spoke with reporters, Heineman explained some of what went into the decision and expressed a full understanding of what went into it.
“I think it’s just the situation, everything that’s been going on. I just didn’t get it done. It’s the manager’s decision,” Heineman said. “I stick by it. He’s one of the best managers in the game and the best manager I’ve played for. He has a reason for everything he does and I fully support it.”
More specifically, Heineman addressed the at-bat with the bases loaded.
"That at-bat was pretty trash,” Heineman said. “I popped up on a pitch I should have drove. I've been pretty crappy the past 10 games or so. He probably saw something he shouldn't have saw or that I did wrong. He made a decision."
It’s no secret that Heineman is struggling, something that has only been magnified by Alejandro Kirk’s fractured thumb, which has pressed Heineman into more regular action. He’s batting .176 with an OPS of just .398, and no extra-base hits next to his name yet in 2026. This comes after Heineman hit .289 with a .777 OPS last season, quietly one of the best stories in the Blue Jays’ dream season.
The other factor adding significant pressure to this situation is Brandon Valenzuela, the rookie catcher who’s come up in Kirk’s absence and impressed. Valenzuela is batting just .205, but has a .664 OPS with home runs in two of his last three starts. He’s impressed behind the plate, too, with a cannon arm and mature approach to game management. Schneider has spoken many times about the “bright future” and “potential” of Valenzuela, who the Blue Jays acquired at last year’s Trade Deadline from the Padres for Will Wagner, one of this front office’s sharper moves.
Keep an eye on the lineups out of Tampa in the coming days. Schneider has always shown a willingness to go back to players -- particularly relievers -- after difficult days, but if Valenzuela receives two or three starts in a row, it’s will be a clear sign of this position shifting.