Blue Jays trade Kevin Kiermaier in last-minute deadline deal

The Toronto Blue Jays have made a last-minute deadline trade, sending centre fielder Kevin Kiermaier to the LA Dodgers.

The Los Angeles Dodgers are acquiring Kevin Kiermaier from the Toronto Blue Jays, according to a source familiar with the deal.

— Robert Murray (@ByRobertMurray) July 30, 2024

Heading to the Blue Jays in the deal is Ryan Yarbrough, a reliever who has pitched over 700 innings at the MLB level. The 31-year-old, who has been a member of the Dodgers since last year’s trade deadline, has a solid 3.74 ERA through 67.1 innings. He’s set to become a free agent this coming offseason.

Moving Kiermaier marked the third trade the Blue Jays made today, as they began by sending Trevor Richards to the Minnesota Twins, before dealing Isiah Kiner-Falefa to the Pittsburgh Pirates a short time later.

In the other deals the Jays made going into the deadline, they focused on getting young prospects back. That was never going to be the case for Kiermaier, who is having a rough year at the plate, hitting just .195 through 81 games.

This deal was instead made in order to do right by Kiermaier, who recently announced that he will be retiring at the end of the season. Joining the 63-44 Dodgers puts him in a great position to become a World Series champion for the first time in his career.

Despite his hitting struggles, the four-time Gold Glove winner remains an elite outfielder, whose defence will be beneficial for the Dodgers whenever they see fit. For the Jays, meanwhile, they have added a veteran reliever who should provide help for the remainder of the season to a bullpen that has had plenty of struggles through 107 games.

The deadline has now officially passed, meaning that one notable trade candidate the Blue Jays held onto is Chad Green. There was said to be plenty of interest in the 33-year-old reliever, but a deal never came to fruition.

More to come…

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