TORONTO — In a vacation reunion, Kevin Kiermaier and the Blue Jays have agreed to a one-year deal value near $10 million, a supply informed MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand on Tuesday.
The membership has not confirmed the deal, which is pending a bodily.
A 12 months in the past, the Blue Jays received the very best of Kiermaier on the same deal after watching him dominate defensively for the rival Rays for almost a decade. Kiermaier hit .265 with eight dwelling runs after joking all Spring Coaching that he hoped to hit zero whereas being the sport’s greatest No. 9 hitter. He held up that finish of the cut price, at the very least, with a .741 OPS, which was comfortably above his profession common, whereas incomes his fourth profession Gold Glove Award in middle.
That is the Blue Jays’ first massive transfer of the offseason, and whereas nothing can evaluate to their pursuit of Shohei Ohtani earlier in December, they needed to begin someplace. Kiermaier was a central piece of the Blue Jays’ broader rebrand a 12 months in the past, after they pivoted towards pitching and protection, and the group seems able to run it again with an outfield of Kiermaier in middle, Daulton Varsho in left and George Springer in proper.
The Blue Jays are nonetheless attempting to pivot again towards the center offensively, reclaiming a number of the firepower that they misplaced, however that now appears likelier to come back at third base or DH, the 2 spots vacated by Matt Chapman and Brandon Belt. Given the time period and {dollars} concerned right here, the Kiermaier deal appears like high-quality worth for the Blue Jays in a vacuum, however there’s nonetheless vital floor to cowl if this membership hopes to get previous the Wild Card Spherical for the primary time since 2016.
As a defender, Kiermaier speaks about fielding with the identical ardour with which nice hitters focus on their swing. He led all AL middle fielders in outs above common this previous season with 13, and trailed solely Nationwide League Gold Glove Award winner Brenton Doyle (15) of the Rockies in MLB this previous season.
What makes Kiermaier really particular is his preliminary bounce. An outfielder’s “bounce” is outlined as the primary three seconds after the batter makes contact, and in that three-second span, Kiermaier covers 3.3 ft greater than the common fielder. That’s the very best in baseball, and has catapulted Kiermaier into the dialog of the very best defenders of this technology.
The Blue Jays have to discover a higher offense — and a timelier one — within the coming months, however there’s time for that, significantly if this membership is aggressive on the commerce market.
Essentially the most fascinating wrinkle of this reunion may very well be the affect on Varsho, who’s an elite defender in his personal proper however spent most of 2023 in left area. Varsho came visiting in a vacation deal of his personal one 12 months in the past when the Blue Jays traded Lourdes Gurriel Jr. and Gabriel Moreno to the D-backs, a steep value that got here with expectations he could be the center-fielder long run. There could also be no staff in baseball able to fielding a greater defensive duo, however with Varsho presumably remaining in left area, that provides one other layer to a blockbuster deal that was already tough to abdomen for some followers following the D-backs’ run to the World Collection.
Toronto’s fourth-outfielder job remains to be open, and the membership may add one other participant through free company or commerce, however there are a number of inside choices. Nathan Lukes spent extra time on the roster in 2023 than his video games performed and at-bats would recommend, whereas Davis Schneider, Cavan Biggio and a number of other different members of the infield depth group can moonlight in a corner-outfield spot. Coming from the pipeline by mid-season may very well be Alan Roden, the Blue Jays’ No. 7 prospect and an on-base machine who posted a .431 OBP between Excessive-A and Double-A a 12 months in the past.
