Blue Jays' Isiah Kiner-Falefa thankful, "willing to do whatever it takes to win'
Photo credit: https://x.com/BlueJays
Toronto Blue Jays utility man Isiah Kiner-Falefa spoke to Sportsnet's Ben Nicholson-Smith about how thankful and motivated he is to help this team win.
When IKF first heard the Pirates had put him on waivers, he wasn't very happy about it. He was just 81 plate appearances away from getting a $250,000 bonus.
He had built relationships with some young Pirates players and the prospect of adjusting to an entirely new team while also moving his life to a new city just didn't sound that appealing.
Then he got a call from Blue Jays GM Ross Atkins and his perspective flipped.
Isiah Kiner-Falefa says he is willing to do whatever it takes to help the Blue Jays win
«Once I found out it was the Blue Jays, man, I was so happy,» he said. «It went from me being a little salty to me being very thankful. I'm just glad. I'm very thankful and I'll do everything I can to give them a good return.»
Kiner-Falefa isn't here to take anyone's job. In fact, he's already told Ernie Clement, «This is your show, I'm here to back up."
And while he's best known for his versatility on the infield, he's so eager to help the Blue Jays that he's about to start taking reps in the outfield and even behind the plate.
"A lot of teams passed on me," said Kiner-Falefa, who was available to every MLB team with a worse record than Toronto before the claim. "The Blue Jays didn't pass on me, so it means a lot. It really, really means a lot that this organization values me. It's kind of full-circle.»
Two off-seasons ago, Atkins signed Kiner-Falefa to a two-year, $15 million deal, but while Kiner-Falefa got off to a great start, posting a .758 OPS with seven home runs, the Blue Jays didn't.
On July 30, they flipped him to Pittsburgh for prospect Charles McAdoo, and at the time he told Atkins, 'If things don't work out, get me at the next deadline.'
A year later and it's the Blue Jays who are buyers, not the Pirates (as for McAdoo, the 23-year-old has 16 home runs with a .749 OPS at double-A this year).
The Blue Jays see Kiner-Falefa as a versatile bench player who can start against some lefties, help on defence and pinch run as needed.
Added reps in the outfield are coming soon for the eight-year MLB veteran, who started 29 games in centre as recently as 2023.
But perhaps most remarkable is Kiner-Falefa's willingness to catch, something he last did at the MLB level with the 2019 Rangers.
He brought up the possibility unsolicited, and while he may not be needed behind the plate, the team-first mindset still stands out.
«I'm going to start putting that catcher's gear on,» Kiner-Falefa said. «It's the least I could do for them.
«It's something I don't need to do, but come playoff time if I pinch-run for (Alejandro Kirk) or something like that or if something happens, I'm gonna give them everything I've got, and I've got that in the bag saved up for whenever the right time is.»
Previously, the Blue Jays' emergency catcher would have been Clement or Daulton Varsho, but neither has to worry about that possibility anymore.
"I could just say 'keep me where I'm comfortable,'" Kiner-Falefa continued, "but the fact that they showed that loyalty, I'm going to give it back to them."
Back when he first signed with the Blue Jays, this is the kind of excitement Kiner-Falefa envisioned: a playoff race with a talented team.
It took a while, but he's excited to have that chance at last.
"It was all meant to be," Kiner-Falefa said. "I'm just really excited."
| POLL | ||
SEPTEMBRE 4 | 138 ANSWERS Blue Jays' Isiah Kiner-Falefa thankful, "willing to do whatever it takes to win' Do you think Isiah Kiner-Falefa can help the Blue Jays down the stretch? | ||
| Yes | 92 | 66.7 % |
| No | 30 | 21.7 % |
| Too early to tell | 16 | 11.6 % |
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