Kiermaier motivated by free agency snubs
Global News
Kevin Kiermaier wants to show up all the teams that passed him over in free agency, and he wants the Toronto Blue Jays to prove all their doubters wrong too.
Kevin Kiermaier wants to show up all the teams that passed him over in free agency, and he wants the Toronto Blue Jays to prove all their doubters wrong too.
“A motivated Kevin Kiermaier is the most dangerous Kevin Kiermaier and that’s what I’ve had throughout this whole off-season,” he said on Wednesday in a video conference with reporters. “Free agency fuelled me and the opportunity right now at the Blue Jays is fuelling me as well.
“I know I get to take that field with an awesome group of guys, with a great coaching staff, great city, great organization.”
Kiermaier decided to test free agency after his first season in Toronto but said he and his agents were disappointed in the offers they received from other teams. He hit .265 with 36 runs batted in, 58 runs, 14 stolen bases and eight home runs last year and earned a Gold Glove in his first season patrolling the outfield at Rogers Centre
The 33-year-old centre-fielder re-signed with the Blue Jays on Dec. 28, agreeing to a one-year contract worth US$10.5 million. Even though Toronto (89-73) finished third in the American League East and was swept out of the wild-card series by the Minnesota Twins, Kiermaier feels that the Blue Jays have all the parts to be a contender.
“I knew the whole time, too, ‘There’s no way if I do go to another team, there’s no way I’m going to go to a more talented team,'” said Kiermaier. “But we can just forget those conversations because I’m going back to the Jays, a super talented team, guys that I love and organization that has been great to me.
“I’m more than thrilled to be back. I’m so excited and 2024 is going to be a huge year for us.”
Kiermaier had hip surgery before signing with Toronto in 2022 and he figured that after a solid showing in a Blue Jays uniform for a year he’d be a highly prized free agent. The market didn’t meet those expectations, so he has worked this off-season to be healthier and more fluid in his movements to prove opposing general managers wrong.
