‘When you know, you know’: Blue Jays’ Kiermaier to retire at end of 2024 season

Between the way his body feels, a Toronto Blue Jays season completely off the rails, an uncertain future after passing through waivers unclaimed and a third child due in December, Kevin Kiermaier’s done a lot of reflecting lately.

The 34-year-old outfielder with 1,120 big-league games of hard-nosed play on the ledger came into the year thinking 2024 was probably going to be it for him. As the season has played out, that’s been confirmed for him.

“It hasn’t gone my way personally, and that’s not part of it, I promise you,” he said Wednesday after going 0-for-3 in a 6-3 Blue Jays victory over his former team, the Tampa Bay Rays.

“I could be having a way better season, and if my body still felt this way — I’ve just had seasons for the last three or four years now, and there are times where I’m like, I don’t know how much longer I can put my body through this. Throughout this whole year and how it’s played out, it’s one of those things where when you know, you know, and I know it’s time.”

Kiermaier first revealed his plans to Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times before Wednesday’s outing on what turned out to be a day he “felt great out there.”

There have been so many fewer of those this year than last when he batted .265/.322/.419 in 129 games — tied for the second most appearances in his 12 big-league seasons, despite working through recurring issues in his hips, back and feet.

All those have been worse this year, compounded, he said, by the extra work he’s put in trying to right a swing that’s produced a .191/.235/.309 hitting line in 77 games.

Regardless, the four-time Gold Glove winner remains an elite defender, with eight outs above average — tied for 17th most in the majors, despite only 524.1 innings in the field — even as “trying to get ready each and every day, is the hardest it’s ever been.”

“I knew that coming in the season, as the years go by, it’s going to get harder and harder,” he continued.

“But it’s deflating in a way at times where you’re just like, man, I sit here and I feel like I take such good care of my body and trying to get ready, it’s difficult. Once I get a good sweat and adrenaline, it’s fine. But there are just some days where it’s hard to get it going and that’s just how it’s been as of late, the last few years, this year, harder than ever.”

Kiermaier’s immediate future up in the air

The Blue Jays placed Kiermaier on waivers just before the all-star break and he cleared, meaning no team wanted to assume what remained of his $10.5 million salary to acquire him. 

They kept him on the roster and it’s possible that between now and the July 30 trade deadline, a team in need of defensive help in centre field and speed on the bases — his sprint speed is still in the 85th percentile — would want him if the Blue Jays paid down enough of his salary. 

He’d certainly make sense as a finishing piece in a specific defensive replacement/pinch-runner role, but he might end up being some team’s final-hour move once other alternatives peter out, too.

Kiermaier was cautious in his reply when asked if he wanted to close out this season with a contender, saying, “I don’t want to jump the gun because I don’t have a whole lot of control over that and whatever the team is going to try to do with me and other guys, potentially within the next week.”

“If that were to happen,” he added. “I’m going to do everything in my power to try to keep my body as best as it can be. I know I can still help and contribute in certain ways, but certainly, it’s been a lot tougher, especially this year, in so many ways.”

Kiermaier considered one of baseball’s premier defenders

No matter how it plays out, Kiermaier’s enjoyed a remarkable career, willing himself from a 31st-round pick by the Rays in 2010 into his generation’s top defensive centre-fielder, which, when combined with a career .710 OPS, allowed him to produce 36.1 WAR. 

Blue Jays manager John Schneider said that as an opponent, Kiermaier “was easy to hate because he took so many hits away and he was a pain in the ass. And knowing him as a player, as a husband and father over the last year and a half and as a guy in the clubhouse, he’s like the ultimate professional. He’s meant a lot to this group, and he is probably one of the best centre-fielders of this era over the last 10 years or so, if not the best.”

Kiermaier laughed at being described as a pain in the butt, called joining the Blue Jays a “blessing” and pointed out how appreciative he was for the opportunity for a reset they provided him after he parted with the Rays, initially in 2023 and again this year. 

“None of us envisioned this season going the way it has,” he said.

“We thought we were going to win a lot more ballgames and be in the thick of everything from April to September. But crazy things happen in this game. I love the people in there regardless of what happens from here on out, and I am always forever grateful for every opportunity thrown my way. And I leave here every day feeling like a lucky man. …

“I know all I put my body through throughout the years and it’s been a heck of a journey, I’ve learned so much about myself physically, mentally,” he added later. “What a ride it’s been. It’s not done yet. We’ll see what happens.”