Signing Kevin Kiermaier kicks off Blue Jays revised plans

A slow off-season of rumoured flight and disappointments … but still time

The Blue Jays, in a shrug-inducing free-agent move the day after Christmas, seem to have a) come to terms on a one-year deal with Kevin Kiermaier while b) also coming to terms with reality. The return of Kiermaier, the game’s top defensive centre fielder was never, seemingly, on the list of Blue Jays’ either Plans A or B, but it has been a fallback position for a very popular performer, once he had gone out and explored the market. Now, at least it gets the ball rolling on an oft-delayed off-season.

The Kiermaier 2024 deal, first reported by Mark Feinsand of MLB.com, is reported at one-year, $10.5 million with incentives based on performance. Prior to the ’23 season, the perennial Gold Glove candidate whose career had blossomed at Tropicana Field, another domed stadium with artificial turf, at the Rays, but who was coming off surgery, at the time, signed a one-year, $9.0-million 2023 free-agent deal with the Jays, with a $750,000 bonus for active roster time.

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