Blue Jays fans can't help but laugh after Red Sox 'steal' their free agent

The Toronto Blue Jays have every reason to be annoyed at teams like the Los Angeles Dodgers and the New York Mets. The former swooped in at the last second and offered Kyle Tucker an insane $60 million per season deal that he couldn't say no to, even if he actually preferred to play in Toronto. The latter, also threw their weight around with their cash and offered former Blue Jays shortstop Bo Bichette a three-year $126 million deal.

Heck, the Blue Jays could even have a gripe with the New York Yankees for being able to resign Cody Bellinger when the left-handed hitting outfielder would have made a nice fit on the 2026 Blue Jays squad. But when it comes to another division rival taking a former Blue Jays player like the Boston Red Sox just did, the reaction from Blue Jays fans isn't really one of sadness or disdain, it's more like, "are you sure about that?"

Blue Jays fans can't help but laugh after Red Sox 'steal' their free agent

News broke late on Wednesday evening (Feb. 4) that the Red Sox had reached a one-year agreement with utility player Isiah Kiner-Falefa. The former Blue Jay who took a lot of heat at the end of the season from a segment of the fans for his lack of a lead off of third base during a crucial moment in Game 7 of the World Series. Kiner-Falefa represented the run that would have won the World Series, but was thrown out on a close force-play at the plate.

Many arm chair managers started to complain immediately after the play that Kiner-Falefa's lead should have been larger. After the game it was revealed he was standing exactly where the coaching staff had asked him to and the result was that he was out by about a toe nail on the very next play.

But that's not what is making Blue Jays fans giggle about this deal by the Red Sox, it's that of all the players the Red Sox could have brought in to bolster their lineup, Kiner-Falefa wasn't at the top of anyone's list, and the deal is worth $6 million. Boston lost Alex Bregman to free agency and have been searching all offseason for his replacement.

They've added Willson Contreras via trade with the St. Louis Cardinals, and while Contreras has been a very consistently productive hitter over his ten-year career, it does feel like there is still something to be desired in the Red Sox lineup, even with the 33-year-old in tow. Kiner-Falefa, while a nice complimentary player, doesn't exactly fill that void.

The former fourth round pick of the Texas Rangers (2013), Kiner-Falefa is coming off his second stint with the Blue Jays. He signed with Toronto ahead of the 2024 season and was one of that teams' better offensive producers, in what was an awful season for the Blue Jays in the standings. The team became sellers at the deadline and sent IKF to the Pittsburgh Pirates for infield prospect Charles McAdoo.

Kalefa was hitting .292/.338/.420 with seven home runs and a 114 OPS+ before the trade, but hit just .240/.265/.322 after the trade with one home run and a .587 OPS. He began the 2025 campaign with the Pirates but was DFA'd and Toronto plucked him off of waivers on August 31. While he came up with a few clutch hits during his 19 games with the Blue Jays he was mostly unremarkable as a bench player in both the regular season and the playoffs.

So it begs the question, what exactly do the Red Sox think he can bring to them, in their bid to get back to the playoffs? It's not like he has tremendous splits and can be used in a platoon role. In fact he hits righties (.267 BA, .666 OPS) slightly better than he hits lefties (.251 BA, .643 OPS) throughout his career. Maybe the Red Sox have circled his .270/.329/.330 slash line with runners in scoring position and hope he can run into a few big at-bats over the course of the year in those situations.

He's also never hit well at Fenway Park. In 23 career games, Kiner-Falefa has a .228/.282/.304 slash line with one home run and 20 strike outs while playing at Boston's home field. But maybe they really love his defense. He has a career 29 Outs Above Average and +22 Fielding Run Value at third base in over 1800 innings played at third base in the major leagues.

Whatever the reason the Red Sox reached an agreement with IKF will be unveiled in the coming weeks and months as they look to the former Blue Jay to help them compete with the Blue Jays for the AL East division title. This will also be the third team in the AL East that he plays for following his two years in New York with the Yankees from 2022-23 that proceeded his time with the Blue Jays.