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Another Blue Jays castoff to play for a World Series ring
From revocable waivers in early July to a champagne soaked dressing room in late October.
Standing shirtless just behind his manager Dave Roberts in the Dodgers locker room, Kevin Kiermaier was popping champagne last night after Los Angeles beat the New York Mets 10-5 to win the National League pennant. Kiermaier was a defensive replacement in the top of the ninth and now has a chance to win his first World Series ring.
It’s champagne time in LA pic.twitter.com/9YgPn0N49N
— Talkin’ Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) October 21, 2024
But let’s rewind back to July 11, when news broke that the Blue Jays front office had placed Kiermaier on revocable waivers, which signalled their intention of trading him by the July 30 Trade Deadline and suggested they were hoping another team would take on the remaining $4.5M left on his $10.5M one-year contract. Prior to that, he was hitting just .183 with an OPS of .522 for an OPS+ of just 48, i.e. 52% worse than MLB average.
He cleared waivers on July 12, but was moved along with $1.7M cash in a deadline deal to the Dodgers for LHP Ryan Yarbrough. Kiermaier played in 34 games for LA, but had only 64 plate appearances with a .203/.242/.322 slash line for a .564 OPS and an OPS+ of just 60.
The Dodgers had the worst team Defensive Runs Saved (DRS) in CF prior to acquiring Kiermaier, and he steadied things with a DRS of +1 and an Outs Above Average (OAA) of +2 in 172 innings, mostly as a defensive replacement for Andy Pages in centerfield. While he only appeared in 4 games and played 8 innings in the NLCS, Kiermaier did score two runs against the Mets.
Blue Jays fans will be happy for the 34-year-old Kiermaier, who’d announced ahead of a July 24 home game against Tampa Bay that he planned to retire after the season. He joins former Blue Jays Teoscar Hernández, Daniel Hudson and Anthony Banda in trying to win a World Series ring with the Dodgers. It would be a first for both outfielders and Banda; Hudson won one with the 2019 Washington Nationals.
Kevin Kiermaier enjoying his final season pic.twitter.com/I4bLM5ss5h
— Vincent Samperio (@vincesince91) October 12, 2024
Former Jays Tim Mayza, Marcus Stroman, Jon Berti and Mark Leiter Jr. all have a chance to win their first ring with the Yankees. Like Mayza, who was DFA’d and then released by Toronto on July 5, Kiermaier has had a long, strange trip from being placed on revocable waivers in early July.
But one thing is for sure: at least one former member of the 2024 Blue Jays will be winning their first World Series Championship this year. It’s a tough reminder of what could have been if Toronto’s season had turned out differently.