Isiah Kiner-Falefa wound up being more valuable than Blue Jays fans could ever have hoped for

There was a controversial reaction to the Toronto Blue Jays signing Isiah Kiner-Falefa in the off-season. It was deemed across the league that his two-year, $15M contract was not a good use of assets for this roster. Now that he's been traded to the Pittsburgh Pirates, Kiner-Falefa not only made well on his contract, but surpassed the expectations people had by a significant margin.

Kiner-Falefa is slashing a robust .296/.338/.420 on the season. He's already surpassed his last year's home run total with 7 home runs, and is just 1 off of tying his season high total. He's now up to a very impressive 116 wRC+ on the season, making Kiner-Falefa one of the team's more valuable players. His excellent stretch was taken to a halt after he was put on the IL on July 2 with a sprained left knee.

Despite not playing in MLB since June 30th, Kiner-Falefa was moved to the Pirates at the trade deadline in exchange for Charles McAdoo, who is currently having a terrific season across High-A and Double-A. The final parting gift with Kiner-Falefa was staying a very viable trade chip, that netted the Blue Jays something to build their future towards,

How has he managed to succeed offensively in his seventh MLB season? The simple explanation is that he's emerged as a true threat against breaking balls. He's currently has a .464 wOBA on sweepers, and a .442 wOBA against curveballs. He's managing to outperform his expected offensive production, by pulling the baseball more consistently, as 13 out of 17 of his extra base hits have been hit to the pull side.

Kiner-Falefa was mainly brought in for his defensive versatility, while being able to take on a large portion of games at 2B and 3B. It's been a tremendous season for him in the field thus far, with him posting 12 DRS (Defensive Runs Saved) and 4 OAA (Outs Above Average). That puts him higher than the likes of Matt Chapman and Manny Machado, who are prolific defenders at the position. He's been a stalwart on defense for the entire season, helping propel the Jays to have the best defense in all of baseball. They currently rank second in MLB with 61 DRS, and Kiner-Falefa is one of the key contributors.

Kiner-Falefa's success on both sides of the ball had paid off dividends for the Blue Jays. He finished his Blue Jays tenure third on the team in fWAR (2.0) despite missing the past month. He ranks eighth for all 2B in fWAR (min. 240 PA), despite missing time on the injured list. By all means, this has been a career year for the 29-year-old, and he is now close to returning from his rehab assignment to join his new Pirates teammates.