The Toronto Blue Jays catchers can't catch a break.
Tyler Heineman was removed from the Blue Jays' game against the Kansas City Royals on Saturday after taking a hard foul tip square in the mask at the top of the third inning.
The Blue Jays later said Heineman suffered a head contusion, and after the game, manager John Schneider told reporters that he's not feeling any concussion symptoms.
"It's more of a head contusion. When I went out there, it was more kind of a headache and his jaw got it a little bit," Schneider said. "So we'll check him out tomorrow, hopefully dodge a bullet, but he's doing alright."
Royals right-fielder John Rave redirected a 2-1 fastball from Max Scherzer into Heineman's mask in the top of the third, visibly shaking up the switch-hitting backstop.
He remained in the game for his at-bat in the fourth, but was pulled after being hit by a pitch and coming around to score on a sacrifice bunt and Davis Schneider single.
"He wanted to keep going, felt like he could keep going, and unfortunately, you gotta take it out of their hands sometimes," Schneider said of Heineman's resilience after making that play on offence.
Heineman was replaced behind the plate by Ali Sanchez.
All-star catcher Alejandro Kirk and outfielder George Springer are both already on the 7-day concussion IL after taking a foul tip off the mask and a fastball to the helmet, respectively.
Heineman has a .333 average, .900 OPS and career-high three home runs this season, albeit in a limited 122 plate appearance sample over 42 games.
The Blue Jays have received significant value from their catching duo this season, totalling 5.6 wins above replacement at the position per FanGraphs, second to the Seattle Mariners, driven by Cal Raleigh's historic season.
