8 players who are entering their last month with the Blue Jays

Kevin Kiermaier

This is where things get tricky for the Blue Jays. While this list is going in alphabetical order, Kiermaier would find himself way at the bottom of the list if this were a ranking purely based off of stats.

Kiermaier, 34, is in the midst of what's easily his worst offensive season to date. This has been especially frustrating for Blue Jays fans, as just last year he broke out and had his best offensive season in many, many years. He's always been one of the best defensive center fielders the game has to offer, but the bat in 2023 was a sight for sore eyes.

All of that has gone out the window this year, minus the dazzling defense, of course. The 12-year veteran is hitting just .187 with a .522 OPS and 48 OPS+ through 68 games so far in the current campaign. He's rarely ever hitting anything other than a single, he's barely stealing bases and he certainly is not drawing walks. As a matter of fact, his walk percentage is down to 4.4%, which is the lowest he's ever had. Not a good look.

However, the aforementioned defense is surely going to be enough to warrant a double take from contending clubs. Kiermaier is arguably the very best defender in center field in all of baseball. This means he provides value in other ways than strictly offensive.

Baseball Reference has him worth 0.9 dWAR while Baseball Savant has him in the 96th percentile in Outs Above Average and 97th in Arm Strength. His Defensive Runs Saved per FanGraphs is at 8, which is tied for fifth amongst outfielders (min. 100 innings). That's a pretty damn good outfielder, if you ask me.

Kiermaier does not need to be any more than a defender for any team trading for him. His value is not zero but it's not off the charts either, so the Blue Jays need to flip him for whatever they can get at the deadline, even if it's some low-risk relief pitching prospect. The pending free agent and his expensive one-year deal will not be the Blue Jays' problem for much longer regardless of how this shakes out.