Report: Blue Jays agree to deal with Kiermaier
The Toronto Blue Jays and three-time Gold Glove outfielder Kevin Kiermaier agreed to a major-league contract, according to Shi Davidi of Sportsnet.
Kiermaier, who's a left-handed bat, reportedly joins a Blue Jays club looking for outfield help after trading Teoscar Hernandez to the Seattle Mariners in mid-November.
Toronto beat out the Los Angeles Dodgers for Kiermaier, reports Juan Toribio of MLB.com.
This pending move would shift George Springer to RF more often. Expect Springer to continue factoring into Jays’ CF mix, but this likely means more of his starts come in RF for 2023. Springer said to be recovering well from the collision with Bo Bichette in AL WC G2.
— Ben Nicholson-Smith (@bnicholsonsmith) December 10, 2022
Kiermaier owns a career .248/.308/.407 slash line with 82 homers and 112 stolen bases over nine seasons with the Tampa Bay Rays.
However, the 2015 Platinum Glove winner only played in 63 games in 2022 due to multiple injuries. The 32-year-old also underwent hip surgery in August.
Kiermaier had a now-infamous moment against the Blue Jays in 2021. He picked up a scouting report card and refused to give it back, which angered Toronto players.