Blue Jays Roundtable: Thoughts on the Kiermaier and Kiner-Falefa signings and what comes next

The Toronto Blue Jays finally made a big league move this offseason, bringing back Kevin Kiermaier on a similar one-year deal that they inked with the veteran outfielder last year. Kiermaier continued to showcase his elite defensive ability last year and now forms a solid trio with Daulton Varsho and George Springer in the outfield heading into the 2024 season. On top of that, the Jays also inked Isiah Kiner-Falefa to a two-year deal, bringing in the defensive-minded utility player on a deal worth $15 million.

With Kiermaier returning to the fold, Blue Jays Nation hosted another roundtable amongst the writers and looked at the following three questions:

2) I do not like the IKF signing in a vacuum. But if it makes it possible for the Jays to move Espinal/Biggio/Barger/etc in a more focused deal (such as for a Triolo) then filling the hole before the hole exists is a good move and I am completely in favour

2) As far as IKF, I think he’s again a reasonable signing provided he’s a backup. He’s a great defender at multiple positions which is something this front office highly values. He can fill that Merrifield role, but he can play shortstop, which means the team can move on from Espinal. He can’t hit a lick, so if he ends up starting in any situation that isn’t covering for an injury, then I like this move a lot less.

2) On the assumption that Toronto will make more impactful acquisitions during this offseason, I like the IKF signing. In the utility-infielder role, I prefer IKF to Espinal because IKF is superior defensively at third and more established at shortstop (2,691 innings compared to Espinal’s 803 innings). The two-year, USD 15 million IKF deal is a tad pricey, but not egregiously.

2) The most logical move after the Kiermaier signing would have been adding a consistent bat to the lineup, but the Jays took a different route and signed Isiah Kiner-Falefa (IKF from here on out) to a two-year deal instead. This is the most confounding move from fans’ perspective because the Jays already had a rather crowded infield with Cavan Biggio, Santiago Espinal and Davis Schneider, vying for more playing time. 

3) It’s going to be a heck of a hard offseason for the Jays’ front office, especially after their attempt at signing Shohei Ohtani because nothing will ever live up to that level of expectations. Re-signing Kevin Kiermaier was smart and signing IKF was confusing but the front office will have to bring in either a fourth outfielder or a full-time infielder (second baseman or third baseman) to address the lack of power. 

1) I don’t hate it, but I don’t love it. 

2) As odd as it may sound, the order in which the Kiermaier and IKF signings occurred doesn’t make this deal too attractive. It almost gives an “Okay, we get Kiermaier’s defense back, but the big offensive signing will come next, right?” Nope, it’s another glove-first player. I’d imagine now the Blue Jays will look to move one of Cavan Biggio, Davis Schneider, or Santiago Espinal (and I certainly hope it is not Schneider). 

3) I haven’t been sold on the big free-agent names in this class. For instance, I like Bellinger, but not for $250 million. I even took the glass-half-full approach with Ohtani, gladly thinking that we don’t owe someone $700 million over 10 years. I wouldn’t want the Blue Jays reaching.

With that being said, I still want to see a better bat signed to this team. I’ll like the Kiermaier and IKF signings a lot more if there is at least one reinforcement for the offence coming, whether by free agency or by trade. I think the most realistic thing for Toronto to do is bring back Matt Chapman on a short-term deal and sign Jorge Soler to a 3/48 deal (or thereabouts). I also like JD Martinez or Adam Duvall as other DH bats.

Again, this free agent class (outside of Ohtani) is very shallow, and I think the Blue Jays will be heavily relying on Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Alejandro Kirk, and Daulton Varsho to have bounce-back years in 2024. But there has to be a middle ground between that and running last year’s team back.

1) I don’t mind the Kevin Kiermaier signing in the slightest, mostly because I think the Blue Jays benefit with another left-handed bat in the lineup and the outfield within the organization is weak at the moment. The club cannot guarantee on signing a high-profile free agent like Bellinger to take on an increased role and Kiermaier also brings plus speed on the base paths, something the club will surely miss with Whit Merrifield no longer in the picture.

The obvious downside is that Varsho likely sticks in left field and he can easily provide plus value in centre field from a defensive standpoint, so there is some drawbacks. Although, Varsho will get his fair share of platooning in centre field with rest days and pitching matchups, so it will be interesting to see how that shakes up (likely with another transaction waiting in the wings).

2) Bringing in Kiner-Falefa is honestly just confusing as hell. There’s nothing wrong with IKF, he is a tremendous athlete, can play multiple positions, and has a great glove but the Blue Jays can throw a stone and hit five guys on the roster who can already do that.

Overall, this move screams that the Jays are not ready to fully trust a prospect on the infield with increased responsibility, whether that be Martinez, Schneider, Barger, or even Ernie Clement. The answer doesn’t appear to be Espinal, who has certainly struggled since the 2022 All-Star break, and it wouldn’t be surprising if the club moves him or Biggio to answer some of the holes still left on the roster.

I think what appears to be the most confounding of this move is that it doesn’t solve anything unless the Jays view IKF as the full-time third baseman, which is fine in its own right, but doesn’t solve the offensive issue. Mind you, the Jays need Guerrero Jr., Kirk, and Springer to bounce back next year and a healthy Danny Jansen will help, but that’s not enough in the AL East. I doubt this will be the last move but until there is more clarity, the signing is just confusing for what the club needs.

3) For what’s next, I don’t think this signing truly takes the Blue Jays out of the Bellinger sweepstakes just yet. The club has wanted to go with four outfielders in the past and got spoiled with Merrifield being able to play multiple positions. Bringing in Bellinger alleviates the concern related to the missing bat and adds another left-hand in the batter’s box for a right-handed dominant squad, which could go a long way (not to mention his 20+ home run power potential). Kiermaier is only around for one season and Bellinger would be in for a longer haul, as long as the deal value is within reason, it still makes sense if ownership appears willing

If signing Bellinger is out of the cards now, the Blue Jays likely pivot to a DH bat-first type of player and I would think a short-term deal for either Rhys Hoskins or J.D. Martinez would fit just right. Hoskins being brought in a “prove it” deal fits within the Jays narrative and seen past success while Martinez is the veteran bat with experience in the AL East, which after a strong campaign in Los Angeles last year, is hard to pass up.