The Toronto Blue Jays have placed veteran outfielder Kevin Kiermaier on revocable waivers, according to Joel Sherman of the New York Post. The move seems like an indication of what’s to come for the disappointing Blue Jays, who are likely to attempt to shed salary by parting ways with their impending free agents between now and Major League Baseball’s July 30 trade deadline.
To be clear: Kiermaier has not been designated for assignment or removed from Toronto’s active roster. He’s allowed to continue to play for the Blue Jays while he’s on revocable waivers. If a team were to claim him — and it’s highly unlikely for reasons we’ll touch on shortly — the Blue Jays would then have to decide between letting him go or pulling him back off waivers. (Hence them being described as “revocable.”)
Kiermaier, 34, had a quality year with Toronto last season. He rejoined the Blue Jays on a one-year deal over the winter, but has performed at career-worst levels. Entering Thursday, he had hit .183/.232/.290 (48 OPS+) with three home runs and five stolen bases in 70 games. Kiermaier is still owed around $4.5 million for the rest of the year; were he performing like his norm, some team would likely jump on the opportunity to add him. As it is, it’s difficult to see a club bailing out the Blue Jays.
As Sherman notes, the Blue Jays will attempt to shed enough financial commitments to place themselves below the luxury tax. Cot’s Contracts estimates Toronto is about $10 million over the mark. That, in turn, would result in a tax bill of more than $3 million. Given that the Blue Jays are longshots to make the postseason, it makes sense that they would instead shift their priorities to saving some coin.
The Blue Jays are expected to continue shopping around other veterans on expiring deals: DH Justin Turner, catcher Danny Jansen, and starter Yusei Kikuchi among them. Toronto is reportedly less willing to move shortstop Bo Bichette or first baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr., despite the greater haul they would both bring in return. Both players have one more year of team control remaining.
The Blue Jays, widely expected to compete for a playoff spot this year, have been one of the biggest team-level disappointments in the majors. They entered Thursday with a 42-50 record that puts them 8 1/2 games away from the closest playoff spot.
