Kevin Kiermaier to retire after season
The 2024 season will be Kevin Kiermaier's last in Major League Baseball, as the Toronto Blue Jays center fielder announced Wednesday that he'll retire at the end of this year.
"This is it, 2024 is it for me," Kiermaier told Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times before the Blue Jays played his former team, the Tampa Bay Rays. "This next week will be very interesting (in terms of a potential trade). But this will be my last year playing.
"I'm going to give it my all the rest of the year regardless of what situation I'm in. But my body is talking to me now more than ever."
The 34-year-old added that spending over a decade playing primarily on artificial turf has worn down his body and helped drive his decision to retire. Kiermaier's struggled with injuries throughout his career and played in over 130 games just once.
Kiermaier spent his first 10 seasons with the Rays before joining Toronto as a free agent two years ago. Although he enjoyed a bounce-back 2023 campaign with the Blue Jays, Kiermaier's fallen off at the plate this year, entering Wednesday hitting a career-worst .195/.239/.314 over 76 games.
The Blue Jays placed Kiermaier on waivers earlier this month, but he remained in Toronto after going unclaimed.
Kiermaier beat the odds to reach the majors as a 31st-round draft pick of the Rays back in 2010 and developed into arguably the best defensive center fielder of his era. The four-time Gold Glove winner's 159 defensive runs saved in center field are by far the most at the position since the statistic was first tallied in 2003.
True to form, Kiermaier's defense remains elite in 2024, as he's accrued seven defensive runs saved and eight outs above average in center. His glove could help a World Series contender as a late-game defensive replacement if the Blue Jays can find a trade.
Kiermaier is a lifetime .247/.306/.404 hitter with 94 homers, 370 RBIs, and 131 stolen bases across parts of 12 big-league seasons. His name is found throughout the Rays' record books, and he helped the franchise to three playoff berths, including the 2020 American League pennant.