Isiah Kiner-Falefa Headed to Blue Jays: What to Make of Move

The Blue Jays have been active in recent days. Toronto reportedly agreed to re-sign defensive wizard Kevin Kiermaier on the 26th, and now multiple reports have indicated that the Blue Jays will add Isiah Kiner-Falefa to their infield group. Here’s a closer look at the new Jay.

A Look at Kiner-Falefa

The Yankees originally acquired Isiah Kiner-Falefa in March of 2022, in the same deal that sent Josh Donaldson to New York and Gary Sanchez and Gio Urshela to Minnesota.

A 2020 AL Gold Glove winner with the Rangers, Kiner-Falefa moved around between catcher, second, third, and short for much of his early MLB career. He did spend much of 2021 and 2022 at the position. However, his bat often drew the ire of Yankees fans.

Kiner-Falefa has never been an above-average hitter in his MLB career. A high-contact hitter with below-average power and a career Zone Contact% of 91.9%, Kiner-Falefa’s never produced an ISO above .098 — his career-high that came in 2023 — and he’s often been well below average in terms of hard hit rates.

The 2023 season, though, proved to be a good one by Kiner-Falefa’s standards. The 28-year-old shifted to a utility role last year, thanks to the presence of rookie Anthony Volpe. Across 115 games, the new Blue Jay hit more home runs (6) than in 142 games a year earlier and provided good overall defense (+2 OAA).

Kiner-Falefa does have experience at second base, a benefit given that Toronto lost Whit Merrifield. However, he does have significantly more at third, a position where Matt Chapman played in each of the last two seasons.

Per multiple outlets, the Blue Jays will reportedly give Isiah Kiner-Falefa a two-year deal worth $15MM.

Analysis

The Blue Jays have prioritized defense in recent years to help their formidable pitching staff which includes Jose Berrios, Kevin Gausman, and Chris Bassitt, among others.

Over the last year, the Jays added and then re-signed outfielder Kevin Kiermaier, and traded for Daulton Varsho to solidify their outfield. Their strategy has worked by and large. Last season, Toronto ranked eighth in the Majors last year in barrels or solid contact that went for outs (per Statcast).

The presence of Kiner-Falefa does give the Blue Jays a versatile infielder who can play multiple positions and do so without sacrificing anything defensively. For a pitching staff that does a good job of getting ground balls, there’s value in that.

At the same time, though, the move of Kiner-Falefa doesn’t change where the Jays are in terms of offensive prowess. Toronto would benefit from adding a big bat to provide support for Bo Bichette and Vladimir Guerrero Jr.

There are still options to be had, but it’ll be interesting to see where the Jays go from here.