Blue Jays bring back UTL Isiah Kiner-Falefa for playoff stretch as Toronto clings to AL East lead
IKF spent part of the 2024 season with the Blue Jays
By
Mike Axisa
•
1 min read
The Toronto Blue Jays have brought back a familiar name, claiming infielder Isiah Kiner-Falefa off waivers from the Pittsburgh Pirates, the team announced Sunday. Toronto traded Kiner-Falefa to the Pirates for minor-league infielder Charles McAdoo at last summer's trade deadline.
Kiner-Falefa, 30, is hitting .264/.300/.332 with 15 stolen bases this season. He has played just about every position in the big leagues (including catcher), though he's spent 2025 at shortstop and third base. Third base is Kiner-Falefa's best position according to both the numbers and the eye test, and where he figures to spend most of his time with Toronto.
The postseason roster eligibility deadline is 11:59 p.m. ET on Sunday, Aug. 31. The timing of the waiver claim means Kiner-Falefa will be able to suit up for the AL East-leading Blue Jays in October. In all likelihood, he will report to the team on Monday, when rosters expand, so the Blue Jays won't have to send a player down open a roster spot.
Second baseman Andrés Giménez has hit a weak .164/.233/.254 against lefties and the Blue Jays could effectively platoon him with Kiner-Falefa. Third baseman Ernie Clement has played plenty of second base this season and could slide between second and third as needed to make the Giménez/Kiner-Falefa platoon work. That's one option available to them.
McAdoo, 23, is hitting .249/.322/.426 with 16 home runs and 30 stolen bases in 108 Double-A games this year. MLB Pipeline ranks him as the 16th-best prospect in Toronto's system and says he has "one of the highest-upside bats in the system," though his long-term defensive home is in question. McAdoo has mostly played third base this year.
For the Pirates, this is a straight salary dump. Kiner-Falefa will be a free agent after the season and is owed approximately $1.25 million the rest of this year. The Blue Jays assume that with the waiver claim. There was said to be some trade interest in Kiner-Falefa at the deadline, but Pittsburgh kept him. Now they salary dumped him on waivers.
The Blue Jays enter play Sunday atop the AL East at 78-58. They have a two-game lead over the New York Yankees that is effectively a three-game lead because they hold the tiebreaker. The Pirates are in the NL Central cellar at 61-76. They will soon clinch their seventh consecutive losing season.
