Kiermaier joining Blue Jays as special assistant

TORONTO -- Just call him the outfield whisperer. Kevin Kiermaier is back.

Just months after capping his 12-year MLB career by winning a World Series ring with the Dodgers, Kiermaier, one of the greatest defensive outfielders this game has seen, is joining the Blue Jays as a special assistant.

This has been buzzing in the back of Kiermaier’s mind for years now. Even last July, when Kiermaier first shared that the 2024 season would be his last, he was already hinting at the future. He’d originally planned to take ‘25 as a full year off -- completely retired -- but his life has been set to baseball’s clock.

“I’d always make a joke with the guys about being a special assistant,” Kiermaier said. “I’d say, ‘You guys are going to miss me, but I’ll be a special assistant one day and you’ll love having me around.’ It’s funny how it came to fruition. I am just thrilled. This is the dream job of a lifetime. I cannot wait.”

Kiermaier will work with the Blue Jays’ outfielders throughout the organization, beginning next week when Spring Training opens in Dunedin. Fla. Outside of a few new faces, Kiermaier will know everyone in the facility. He seemed to embrace Toronto so quickly after signing with the Blue Jays in 2023, and even after his ‘24 trade to the Dodgers at the deadline, he kept that connection alive and made it clear to Ross Atkins and the front office that he didn’t just want to hang out at the ball field… he wanted to work.

“Please, just trust me. Let me be a part of this. Let me bounce around,” Kiermaier told the Blue Jays. “Let me offer my services here, from top to bottom in the organization. Let me show you what I can do. Let me be the outfield whisperer to these guys.”

The Blue Jays have leaned on former players more in recent years, including last year’s addition of Victor Martinez as a special assistant. Martinez, who had ties to Atkins and Mark Shapiro back to his Cleveland days, worked with the club’s young hitters in camp and throughout the season, often alongside former Blue Jays star Edwin Encarnación. You see much of the same on the pitching side, often led by 1996 Cy Young Award winner Pat Hentgen, who has been an exceptional resource to young players for well over a decade now.

These former players cover so many different areas. Encarnación, for example, loves working with young power hitters, lighting the lamps along a path he knows well. Kiermaier, of course, will work with outfielders. His four Gold Glove Awards don’t tell the full story. By many metrics, he ranks among the best defensive outfielders in MLB history.

This all begins with the relationship, though, like Martinez’s going back to the early days of his career with Shapiro. The Blue Jays, in the simplest terms, mean something to Kiermaier.

“I can’t thank them enough,” Kiermaier said. “They’ve treated me great for years now. That’s why I wanted to keep this relationship going. I love the people in this organization. There’s too much potential and too much talent. There are too many great people to be away from for a year. I am thrilled.”

Now, it’s time to get to work. Yes, Kiermaier will still be flying around, shagging fly balls and robbing home runs in batting practice. He doesn’t have an “off” switch when the ball is hit in the air.

Kiermaier should immediately connect with players, too, and not just because of his success in the big leagues. It’s about how he got there, as a 31st-round pick who was never heralded as the next big thing. There are dozens of young outfielders pouring into Dunedin who want to do the same.

The 34-year-old Kiermaier will have a message for them:

“I’m very confident and I worked my butt off to create a mindset back in the day that I was going to be one of the best outfielders ever,’” Kiermaier said. “I tried to do that throughout my whole game, but I knew defense was always going to be my calling card. I did, I worked to try to be the best ever. I just want to do the same now from a coaching standpoint. I know I have the resume and the statistics to back it up, so I want to tell these guys, ‘If I were you guys, I would listen to me and my advice.’”