Kiermaier sees centre field as ‘my job to lose’
TORONTO — Baseball loves a very good buzzword, and “run prevention” is having its second in Toronto.
It’s huge, broad and deliberately obscure, however the easiest definition is Kevin Kiermaier, the longtime Rays outfielder who simply finalized a one-year, $9 million deal with the Blue Jays for 2023. After a decade of dazzling and irritating the Blue Jays along with his defensive brilliance, it’s Toronto’s flip to benefit from the present.
The solely query remaining was simply how typically Kiermaier would have that chance, a solution which is tied on to George Springer’s potential shift to proper subject on a semi-permanent foundation. Kiermaier appeared to clear that up rapidly.
“They want me to play pretty much every day,” Kiermaier mentioned. “They want me manning centre field out there and getting my rest when I need to, but there were no platoon talks or anything like that. It seems like it’s my job to lose, I guess you could say, and I’m going to do everything in my power to go out there and play Gold Glove caliber defense.”
Kiermaier has three of these awards, and defensively, he has the potential to be one of the best centre fielder you’ve seen in Toronto in a very long time.
There are two methods to measure Kiermaier’s impression on this membership defensively, beginning with the flowery stats. Stretch this all the way in which again to the beginning of the 2016 season, when Statcact started measuring outs above common (OAA), and he leads all MLB outfielders with 71. Kiermaier missed a lot of the ’22 season with hip points that led to season-ending surgical procedure, however in ’21, his 12 outs above common ranked third amongst all outfielders. Yes, Kiermaier is coming into his eleventh MLB season, however his glove nonetheless works.
This is due largely to Kiermaier’s pace. Even as he labored via ache in his hip final season, Kiermaier averaged a dash pace of 29.2 ft per second. For context, that will mechanically make him the quickest participant on this roster, forward of the speedy Whit Merrifield (28.7 ft/sec), giving the Blue Jays one other dose of athleticism within the subject and on the basepaths. Of course, Kiermaier’s jumps, instincts and skill to regulate his physique to the ball are what take these bodily instruments and make them really sing.
“I’m a game-changer out there,” Kiermaier mentioned. “Now that my legs are feeling so much better, I can get back to my form that I [had] before. I want those pitchers to know that they can attack these guys and throw the ball over the plate. If it doesn’t leave the yard and if it’s in the air long enough, I’m going to catch it.”
That brings us to the attention check. If you’re a Blue Jays fan, you’ve hated the attention check with Kiermaier, who has routinely robbed runs from Toronto over time. Patrolling the outfield at Tropicana Field isn’t an enviable job, given the turf and a roof that fielders typically lose balls in, however Kiermaier’s protection has been stadium-proof. Come subsequent spring, when the new-look Rogers Centre is predicted to have new outfield-wall dimensions that “create some uniqueness” and add some “interesting outcomes with balls in play.”
This is why the Blue Jays had been all in on Kiermaier from Day 1 of free company. Kiermaier is 32, a former Thirty first-round Draft choose and a 10-year MLB veteran, however he was experiencing the open marketplace for the primary time after signing an extension with the Rays in 2017. It’s tough to know what to anticipate, however instantly, Kiermaier observed the Blue Jays standing eagerly on the entrance of the road.
“As a player, you just want to feel wanted, and no other team seemed to want me more than the Blue Jays,” Kiermaier mentioned. “That appealed to me so much. They made me feel loved right from the start. They killed it with their Zoom call to me. I ultimately ended up where I wanted to, on the team that wanted me the most.”
So, what now? Adding one other outfielder nonetheless appears superb right here. If that outfielder bats left-handed and will help to exchange a few of Teoscar Hernández’s offensive manufacturing, even higher. If they are often acquired with some group management for one in every of Toronto’s younger catching trio? Jackpot.
For now, although, Kiermaier and his glove could have a chance to vary the look of the Blue Jays’ outfield and frustrate some opposing hitters alongside the way in which. Besides, he matches that new favourite buzzword.
“Run prevention,” Kiermaier mentioned, “is my bread and butter.”
