TORONTO — Capitalizing on a final opportunity to bolster rosters with external additions, the Toronto Blue Jays reunited with Isiah Kiner-Falefa on Sunday by claiming him off waivers from the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Getting him into the organization before Sept. 1 means the versatile infielder is eligible for the post-season and his addition comes after a couple of close calls demonstrated how quickly attrition can erode depth.
Centre fielder Daulton Varsho, hit on the right pinky Friday night, avoided a fracture but wasn’t in the starting lineup for a second straight day Sunday. Infielder Ernie Clement, meanwhile, started Sunday for the first time since Tuesday as he works through playing with a hairline fracture in his left hand, which requires “rest and time,” to heal, “which we don’t have,” he said, “so you just suck it up and go play.”
Clement pinch-hit in the eighth inning of Saturday’s 4-1 loss to the Milwaukee Brewers, flying out to centre, and said Sunday morning that hitting with the injury “feels terrible.”
To try to make it less uncomfortable, he “put a little thicker grip on (the bat) just to take some stress off the grip-strength and everything,” but otherwise “you’ve got to try and do your best to forget about it.”
-
-
MLB on Sportsnet
Watch the Toronto Blue Jays, Blue Jays Central pre-game, marquee MLB matchups, Jays in 30, original documentaries, the wild card, divisional series, championship series and entire World Series on Sportsnet and Sportsnet+.
“It’s more just mental toughness than anything because if you go in there feeling sorry for yourself or anything like that, you don’t have a chance,” he added. “I just tried to forget about it and go in and try to get a hit.”
Clement demonstrated that resilience during his first at-bat Sunday, dunking in an RBI single in the first inning. But with the Blue Jays having far less organizational depth in the infield compared to the outfield — Michael Stefanic is the top option at triple-A Buffalo with Leo Jimenez on the injured list — adding Kiner-Falefa is a smart move to protect the club in the event Clement suffers a setback or another infielder is injured.
Kiner-Falefa signed a $15-million, two-year deal with the Blue Jays two off-seasons ago and batted .292/.338/.420 in 83 games before being traded to the Pirates at the deadline last year for double-A third baseman Charles McAdoo.
This season, he hit .264/.300/.322 in 119 games with Pittsburgh before being placed on waivers, a money-saving move non-contenders sometimes make with pending free agents, as the claiming club assumes any remaining salary.
The 30-year-old played 94 games at shortstop and 25 games at third base for the Pirates, but last year also played second base 40 times with the Blue Jays, so he can comfortably offer strong defence at all three spots. Major-league clubs can add one position player and one pitcher to their rosters beginning Monday.
