Versatile Kiner-Falefa signs 2-year deal with Toronto

TORONTO -- The Blue Jays on Friday announced a two-year, $15 million deal with the versatile Isiah Kiner-Falefa.

The deal includes up to $1 million in incentives, a source told MLB.com, and comes shortly after the Blue Jays finalized a one-year, $10.5 million deal to reunite with Gold Glove center fielder Kevin Kiermaier.

Coming off Toronto’s pursuit of Shohei Ohtani, complete with secrecy, flight tracking and high-stakes drama, the pivot back to reality was never going to carry the same momentum for Blue Jays fans. This is a roster that still needs multiple additions, though, and while Kiermaier’s fit is straight and simple, Kiner-Falefa’s role still leaves questions.

The 28-year-old played all over the diamond for the Yankees a year ago, adding a steady dose of outfield reps to his experience at second base, third base and shortstop. If you’re a Blue Jays fan, or have even taken a passing glance at their 40-man roster, Kiner-Falefa’s skill set should sound awfully familiar.

Who will play on either side of Bo Bichette is still up in the air and Kiner-Falefa’s addition only adds to that intrigue. This past season, Whit Merrifield was the moving piece in all of this, but Kiner-Falefa joins a group that includes 2023 breakout Davis Schneider, Cavan Biggio, Santiago Espinal and Ernie Clement.

Expand that to include Toronto’s prospects: Orelvis Martinez (ranked No. 2 by MLB Pipeline), Addison Barger (No. 5), Leo Jimenez (No. 6) and Damiano Palmegiani (No. 18).

That’s a deep group, one that remains one of this organization’s biggest strengths.

“They all have a level of versatility, there [is] different-handedness and they all performed, frankly,” assistant GM Mike Murov said at the MLB Winter Meetings earlier in December. “A lot of them performed really well last year. That allows us to be as opportunistic as possible in terms of finding the right fit or the right impact in terms of position, playing time, handedness, things like that.

“I don’t think we’re approaching any decision this offseason pigeonholed into a position or skill set.”

Kiner-Falefa could slip into that Merrifield role, playing multiple positions while still being a “regular” in the lineup, or he could emerge as the primary option at third base, depending on Chapman’s market and what else comes available via trade.

Kiner-Falefa could also be part of the outfield depth picture, which currently features 2023 holdover Nathan Lukes and No. 7 prospect Alan Roden, the on-base machine who could push to make the big leagues by midseason.

In short? This move means something, but we won’t know exactly what until we see the Blue Jays’ next move, then the next and the next. They’re doubling down on versatility.

At the dish, Kiner-Falefa is a career .261 hitter with a .660 OPS, while his six home runs in 2023 representing his annual power production. His WAR value peaked in 2021 and ‘22 (1.6 and 1.5, per FanGraphs), but that dropped to 0.2 a year ago in New York when Kiner-Falefa moved off shortstop full-time and received less of his value from those defensive metrics.

Rogers Centre has always been kind to Kiner-Falefa, where he’s hit .278 with a .791 OPS over 15 career games. There’s a baserunning element to Kiner-Falefa, as well -- 56 stolen bases in 70 attempts over the past three seasons -- which should fit the Blue Jays’ strategy as they continue to be more aggressive under manager John Schneider.