Blue Jays manager cites impending child's birth why Alejandro Kirk isn't at camp and won't be in the WBC: "It was a collective decision"

Toronto Blue Jays catcher Alejandro Kirk is withdrawing from the 2023 World Baseball Classic. He has also not yet shown up to Spring Training with the team as they begin their spring schedule in advance of the regular season.

Manager John Schneider said that they made a collective decision for Kirk not to show up yet and for him to abandon Team Mexico at the 2023 World Baseball Classic.

The reason? He's going to be a father very soon. Schneider said via ESPN:

"We decided collectively probably best to not to do the WBC. That's the decision that he came to. As soon as the baby comes, he's coming right to camp and he'll be here."

He continued:

"Understanding where we are on the calendar and understanding the buildup, all that stuff. It was a collective decision."

Kirk was one of the stars of Team Mexico and leaves a big vacancy at the catcher position. He's also an integral part of the Blue Jays' plans for 2023, so this is a big delay and loss.

But as Schneider obviously knows, having a child is a very big thing. Baseball pales in comparison, but it does seem like Kirk was at least trying to figure out how to do both.

Ultimately, he couldn't, so he and the team(s) decided it would be best for him to focus on the birth of his child and come back to baseball when it's over.

Kirk was an All-Star in 2022 as a catcher, coming in second-place in voting to New York Yankees' star Jose Trevino.

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What to expect from Alejandro Kirk in 2023

Alejandro Kirk had an excellent season in 2022, en route to his first All-Star game appearance. He recorded 3.8 fWAR and had a 129 wRC+. He figures to improve on that next year.

Alejandro Kirk may be rusty to start the year

He may get off to a slow start thanks to his delay in arrival at Spring Training. The longer it takes, the more rusty he might be to start the season.

Nevertheless, the projections believe he might have a career year. He's projected to record 4.3 fWAR and potentially up to a 139 wRC+.