The Yankees are in the market for multiple outfielders this winter, and one name they’ve discussed as a possibility is free agent Kevin Kiermaier, per Brendan Kuty and Chris Kirschner of The Athletic. The longtime division rival has spent his entire career to this point with the Rays and the Blue Jays.
Although he’s now squarely in his mid-30s, the 34-year-old Kiermaier remains one of the preeminent defensive center fielders in baseball. He signed a one-year deal with Toronto last offseason after undergoing season-ending hip surgery with Tampa Bay in 2022 and showed minimal ill effects, posting gaudy marks of 18 Defensive Runs Saved and 13 Outs Above Average in 981 innings of center field work. He also turned in an above-average line at the plate, batting .265/.322/.419. Kiermaier added 14 steals (in 15 attempts), popped eight home runs and tallied 21 doubles and six triples.
It’s a tantalizing package of talent, but Kiermaier’s durability — or rather, his lack thereof — has limited his career to this point. He avoided any notable injuries in 2023, missing time only due to an elbow laceration, but he’s averaged just 105 games per 162-game season dating back to 2017. Overall, he’s played in just 65.7% of his team’s possible games in that time, owing to a litany of injuries. That includes not only the aforementioned hip surgery, but also a wrist sprain, a torn ligament in his thumb, a hip fracture and a broken hand.
While some of the injuries have been standard-fare bad luck, the devil-may-care level of reckless abandon with which Kiermaier plays center field also leaves him prone to injury. He’s a clear-cut elite defender, but his willingness to dive for balls and crash into the outfield wall at full speed have been to the detriment of his health at times.
That said, Kiermaier’s left-handed bat would be a nice fit with the Yankees’ short porch. He’s long had roughly average power output — career .159 ISO, career-high 15 home runs — but it’s easy to see Yankee Stadium producing a few extra long balls for him if he can remain healthy. That’s far from a guarantee, given his track record, but Kiermaier would give the Yanks a left-handed bat and premium defender — something they’ve recently lacked in the outfield. In the likely event that he misses time, Aaron Judge has shown himself capable of sliding over to center field.
Kiermaier signed a one-year, $9MM contract last winter coming off hip surgery. It stands to reason that he ought to command a notably larger deal coming off a healthy and productive season — particularly given the lack of quality outfielders on the free agent market. Whether he’ll command a guaranteed multi-year deal with such a lengthy injury history remains an open question, but he certainly has the case to push for one after a strong all-around ’23 campaign in Toronto.
Saint Nick
Yikes
Captain-Judge99
No thanks. Easy pass.
Dorothy_Mantooth
2/$25M would get it done.
Ejemp2006
The Yankees should sign Chapman, Kiermairer and Merrifield.
RSmith
Go for it Yankees. Judge, Stanton and Rodon need a 4th for golf. Someone to replace Severino.
Pads Fans
LHB. Great defense. A good fit in NYC
OIC2021
The Guardians are in on Kiermaier and if they get him then Myles Straw is on to the Yankees for a RP
JRamHOF
?
HatlessPete
Ya I like the fit here too. I’m wary about bellinger regressing on a big deal and kiermaier should come cheaper in $$ and years by a lot. It can’t be the only move they make to upgrade the line up this off-season but that glove with some offensive upside potential adds up to a good complementary piece imo. Kiermaiers d is good enough that I think it could mitigate a bat first dude in the corner judge isn’t covering to some extent.
JazzJazz
Selfless guys who bust their asses like Kiermaier prove that guys like Ryne Sandberg had the better m.o.: Never dive for balls plus Never slide headfirst equals Never get hurt plus Never have to worry about your next long-term contract.
Tigers3232
How did never sliding headfirst work out for Oneil Cruz?? Seems it didn’t equate to “never get hurt”
JazzJazz
Tigers: The question is not how did it affect one major outlier but rather how did it work out for Sandberg?
Tigers3232
You are ignoring the fact that Sandberg himself is kind of an outlier. Professional athletes get hurt and many do so without diving.
You can not dive all you want and fracturing a forearm getting hit by a pitch can happen. Not diving does not prevent bad hops, pulled hamstrings, ruptured tendons, etc…
JazzJazz
Tigers: Fair enough. But I’m just saying that there are injuries that you CAN almost completely control, and Sandberg made sure he did control everything that he could.
Hall of Famer for sure. But simultaneously overrated and perhaps a bit whimpy.
Tigers3232
I totally agree he is overrated. I liked him as a player as well. Bit the love he got for being on Cubs and complete lack of credit Whitaker is given for his career is appalling.
The 2 have very similar stats and played sam position in same era. For Sandberg to get in on 3 tries and Whitaker to fall off first ballot is a joke.
JoeBrady
Baseball writers know less about BB than the folks at the local pub.
JazzJazz
JoeBrady: Maybe not more than the average pub loiterer, but less than MANY engaged diehard fans, for sure.
Tigers3232
I don’t think he is a good fit at all for Yankees. They need consistent bats in lineup, that is something Kiemaier is not.
I usually don’t think teams can go wrong having a solid glove like his. But a team in need of bats as much as Yankees would seem to just compound a problem.
Joe says...
Tigers considering the Yankees need two outfielders, getting KK on a short term deal would be good. He would just be a placeholder for Dominguez hen he gets back.
Tigers3232
I don’t see one good or great bat fixing their hitting woes. I’d say their focus should be on adding consistent bats to lineup.
YankeesBleacherCreature
KK can get two or three years in this market. The Yankees will be “in” for every outfielder for this hot stove season F.A. or not.
steelerbravenation
Fits perfect for the Yankees bottom of the order bat with great defense but most of all won’t cost a long term deal so Dominguez can step right back in
tmetiva
Here we go…our annual Yankees linked to EVERYONE posts.
dbdmack
Always injured, can’t hit. Yeah, that has Yankee OF written all over him.
billy09
Aging, injury prone player who can’t hit. Perfect fit
Buzzz Killington
Match made in heaven.
dasit
injury prone? check
poor man’s version of the guy they should be targeting? check
lefty bat that on paper could work in yankee stadium thus providing cover when things go horribly wrong? check
Gumby82
Please get him so the Giants don’t
Degaz
LOL Yankees. Buying high on a 34 year old defensive specialist. Makes sense….is Andrelton Simmons still available too?
JazzJazz
Degaz: Let’s petition to bring back Andruw!!
Whyme
He was good for the Jay’s but doesn’t want to play on turf anymore
dougsolo1
He is very injury prone, which Cashman loves. So he is a good bet to be a Yankee.
mlbnyyfan
Yankees Off-season moves
Trade Stanton for a dozen hot dogs
Trade Torres for Verdugo to play LF
Trade Rizzo for prospects
Sign Bellinger for CF
Sign Chapman for 3B
Move DJ to first base
Pereza to SS
Volpe 2B
Play Bellinger at Center until Dominez is ready. When Dominez healthy move Bellinger to 1B
C Wells
1B Bellinger
2B Volpe
SS Pereza
3B Chapman
LF Verdugo
CF Dominez
RF Judge
DH DJ
This lineup wins division
Simm
That lineup has a lot of potential holes in it. Chapman was terrible 3/4 of the season last year andhas had some shakes years of late. Verdugo has been mid. Bellinger isn’t a sure thing at all. Color can’t hit a thing. Same with Pereza. I can keep going.
HatlessPete
Bruh are you just going to spam this on every yankees related post lol?
Eatdust666
Pretty much
YankeesBleacherCreature
I’ll bite. That lineup barely improves the offense while the Yankees pay out more dead money and increase payroll. Wells and Peraza are big question marks for full-time duties. Dominguez is out until around ASB. I’ll just stop there. Lol
Killer Refrigerator
This lineup wins the division? This lineup, as you have it here, doesn’t win the division – pitching wins the division. You have Cole – that’s it. Rodon can’t be counted on and the jury is still out on the rest of the Yanks’ rotation – Verdugo isn’t getting traded to the Yankees. Plus you still have Boonie and Cashy.
JPR
Which division? Not the AL East.
In nurse follars
Athletics discuss Soto and Othani! “Can we afford them?” “No, lol”. “Ok. tell the rumor mill we discussed them.!”
PoisonedPens
I can picture them signing Kiermaier and bringing back Bader, only to have them run into each other in spring training and missing 3/4 season each.
Buyer beware on a guy who has played one full season in his career. Yes, he played 129 games last year, but that’s still just under 80% of the TBJ schedule and includes games he entered late as a defensive replacement..
Degaz
LOL Bader….as a Reds fan having watched him fail for a month is enough for me.
JackStrawb
KK would be a brilliant addition on a team that will have to rotate b/t him and three other OFers. Play him 4x a week and you might get huge benefits, but the temptation for badly run or desperate teams is always to play him into the ground.
In short, he should avoid the Yankees unless he wants his next contract to be his last.
stubby66
See now if the Yankees were smart I would think they may line up in a trade for Milwaukee Joey Weimer. close to the same player great defense and a lot younger. His ceiling could be Paul O’Neil type guy.
aragon
Yankees iterna discussion is such big MLB news?
HatlessPete
I like this idea as a supplemental move to more impactful moves elsewhere on the roster. Like if kiermaier is the biggest lhb of acquisition of the off-season that’s a weak showing for the fo, but if they.get him on a short deal and also trade for soto (for example) then I think it becomes a really good move. Doesn’t block Dominguez longterm and doesn’t put too much pressure on kiermaier’s bat.
Angry Disgruntled Sox Fan
Dumb idea. Time to fire Cashman
YankeesBleacherCreature
You sharpening your pitchfork for Breslow yet?
Angry Disgruntled Sox Fan
This was mostly a joke. I don’t see Cashman going anywhere. Breslow, who knows. I have no clue how that will unfold. We were desperate to higher someone
agentx
Surely Jazz Chisholm had stories like this and the relative lack of big market SS openings over the next few years when he volunteered to move to CF.
TrillionaireTeamOperator
It’s a good stop gap signing on paper, but like people said;
Yankees would be buying high off an unusually healthy and productive season from a player who generally can’t stay healthy and tends to go healthy productive season followed by injury marred unproductive season to healthy productive season etc and he’s coming off a healthy productive season, so…..
Probably not a bad signing in theory but statistically he’s due to be a waste of a roster space.
Pass, respectfully.
Birdieman2
They’ve probably “discussed” a lot of guys. Doesn’t make it a story.
mostlytoasty
People seem to be clowning on this idea but Kiermaier would make a lot of sense IF the Yankees plan on having Dominguez take over CF when he returns mid-season.
YES, Kiermaier is injury prone–the exact thing the Yankees should be trying to avoid. But look at the CF market right now. Unless you’re trading for a CF, which one with a good bat WON’T come cheap, you’re looking at Bader, Kiermaier, and Taylor as your “best” options. I guess the Yanks could surprise by landing Bellinger, but I’d be avoiding a big contract to him given his under the hood numbers and overall expected cost.
Kiermaier wants to play on grass–he’s tired of turf, and I’m sure his legs are too. All you’d be asking him to do is strong-side platoon work for the first half of the season and then switching to a 4th OFer/defensive sub for the remainder of the contract. I assume he’s around a 2 year/$10-12 AAV commitment.
Seems like a perfectly fine fit in CF as long as the Yanks are bringing in a legit LFer and fixing their INF some.
Yanks2
Bellinger makes more sense than Kiermaier
mostlytoasty
Yes but the difference is “only” in the neighborhood of $240+ million. Bellinger is going to regress, but he’s not going to get paid like that’s going to happen. With several terrible contracts still on file for awhile, the Yanks would be better committing big $$$ to someone like Yamamoto.
Again, this does assume that the Yanks envision Dominguez as basically the heir apparent once he’s healthy.
Viveleempireevil
Think you’ve made an excellent point here my friend. At 34, he is looking at the back end of his career. He makes his money with his legs. Cannot blame him for wanting to go somewhere with natural grass. My only caution is the Bader experience. I remember the scouts at the time (even though he showed up in a walking boot): great CF with foot speed. And a ton of injuries. But if they whiff on Bellinger then either Kiermaier or Bader are an option. But not at $10M/yr for 5.
rocky7
The Bader trade, is only right behind the Montas trade as two of the worst in recent memory orchestrated by Cashman…..KK at 33 is an injury waiting to happen and if so, Florial, if he remains on the 40, will be up so why not give the kid 300 at bats to see what he can do offensively as he can certainly hold his own with the glove……if he falls flat on his face, there will be options at the trading deadline if the Martian is ready yet…….why spend money on a multi year deal at big money for KK when you have options in your own system and can use the money you save to bolster other needs…….
Yanks2
The problem is it makes no sense but Cashman is too dull to understand it. Just like the Aaron Hicks and Jacoby Ellsbury extensions. He thought they were great investments but we all saw his they both turned out
YankeesBleacherCreature
The problem is convincing KK to sign and be a 4th outfielder/bench player in a few months.
Dorothy_Mantooth
1 year deal for $13M with a $12M player option and a $2M buyout on that option. So it becomes 1/$15M or 2/$25M
DonCarl97
I know Cashman would never do it but:
I would eat some money on Anthony Rizzo and try to get a trade for Pete Alonso including one of the youngsters.
Try to get Juan Soto but with an extension already agreed or go for Cody Bellinger.
Trade Gleyber Torres and try to get another outfielder
Trade with the Cardinals some pitching for Nolan Gorman
Look for a real closer David Bednar or Devin Williams
Go Go Power Rangers
Not only would Cashman never do it but neither would the Mets, Padres, Cardinals or Brewers.
Yanks2
Please no. This would be such a typical Yankee move. Don’t get Bellinger or Soto and instead rummage in the bargain bin for another .240 hitter
Calvin
Signing a very good defensive player makes no sense. kids down in minors run faster and cheaper with similar offense output. You might just put Estevan Florial in CF.
Paxwax
Actually a great idea! Florial deserves a half season to prove himself. Volpe will never be better hitter than he was this year. Don’t think Wells is ready yet!
Pedro Martinez’s Mango Tree
Good. Sign him and keep your grubby hands off Verdugo
Viveleempireevil
Oh right. Can’t put our hands on a dude with a .745 ops last year. I wouldn’t trade you Gleyber Torres’ Abuelo for Verdugo, straight up. But, if you threw in a bag of rat droppings from that ramshackle shitehole you call a ball park, I might think about it.
JRW 2
No more Toronto Trash please……
Mercenary.Freddie.Freeman
Yankees fans want Belli and Ninja Cash going after an aging outfielder years past his glory days. Wow!
Yankeesforever
Yankees must be looking for an AARP discount contract.
Eatdust666
Knowing how stupid Cashman is and he is very stupid and not fit to still be allowed to make decisions for the Yankees, he would making signing Kiermaier and re-signing Montas, should they happen as their biggest moves of the offseason if he could. #FireCashman
Bill
Can players be taught not to be so reckless in their pursuit of balls (to the detrimence of their health), or is it in their DNA and can’t be changed at this point? Seems like he would have changed by now given all the time he’s missed.
rashomon
I see the Yankees acquiring Kepler.
Kyak
High probability of being injured and making over 10 million per year you say? Sounds like someone Cashman would be interested in.
Viveleempireevil
The three greatest New York Yankee GMs of all time (in order): 1. George Weiss 2. Ed Barrow 3. Brian Cashman. Sorry. Facts are facts. Admire and respect what Brian has done.
oscar gamble
If the Yankees haven’t “discussed” every free agent available then they aren’t doing their job well.
JoeBrady
This is the typical Cashman mis-direction. He said he wanted to sign a LH CF, which meant Bellinger. When he realized that he gave away his game plan, he drops a hint that he is looking at KK, to “trick” Belli’s agent into thinking he is uninterested.
StudWinfield
I have no problem with KK on a 1 or 2 year deal. Outside Belli the long term CF options just aren’t there.
Tom the ray fan
You forgot about Andujar and Frazier!
Digdugler
KK is so good, I wish Atkins didnt trade for Varsho (as does everyone) so we could bring KK back!
Indianfan
Wow, what a story. But, I forgot, it’s about the Yankees.
LordD99
KK makes sense to start the season in CF and the eventually move to the 4th OF role once Dominguez returns.
yanks28
No get Bellinger
JPR
You need some punctuation here.
Tom the ray fan
Yanks fans wouldn’t appreciate him unless he robs a Homer every night.