Kevin Kiermaier excited to join Blue Jays, ‘whup up’ on Rays

Kevin Kiermaier got the first real sense of how different his post-Rays baseball life is going to be on Tuesday when he drove from his Tampa home to the Blue Jays’ player development complex in Dunedin to take his physical exam and meet staff with his new team.

“It was a little weird to me because I’ve known one thing my whole life,” Kiermaier said.

As he now finds himself competing for another American League East rival against the Rays — his squad since the 2010 draft — more adjustments are coming.

“Yeah, it’ll be different,” Kiermaier said Thursday on a media Zoom call. “But at the same time, I know what I signed up for. I’m here to join the Toronto Blue Jays and I’m here to dedicate myself to them and I’m gonna do everything in my power to whup up on the Rays, as weird as that is right now.

“But that was something that appealed to me, too. I was excited to stay in the division and be able to play those guys and play at the Trop and to play against them at the Rogers Centre. It’s been such a fun battle over the years and I imagine that will continue, but I’ll just flip-flop dugouts. It’ll be interesting.”

Kiermaier, who became a free agent when the Rays declined a $13 million option, said he couldn’t be more pleased with how his first foray into the market turned out, especially with the added complication of him recovering from left hip surgery.

The Jays were aggressive in their pursuit, complimentary of his skills and inclusive of his family. From “a lot” of teams that had interest, he picked them over the Dodgers.

“As a player you just want to feel wanted,” he said. “And no other team seemed to want me more than the Blue Jays. That appealed to me so much, and they made me feel loved right from the start.”

Plus, they offered what he wanted most, which is the chance to play regularly, even better on a contending team (albeit on a turf home field, which he had hoped to avoid) with a strong offense.

“They said they want me to play pretty much every day, they want me manning centerfield, getting my rest when I need to, but there were no platoon talks or anything like that,” he said. “It seems like it’s my job to lose, I guess you could say.

“I’m gonna do everything in my power to go out there and play Gold Glove-caliber defense and do what I can offensively to just be a nice complement to an already great offensive team. I’ve got a lot left more in the tank and that’s what I’m working on right now. But opportunity-wise, no other team was talking anywhere near the Blue Jays.

“I want to be an everyday player and that’s what I’ve been working for ever since my rehab started in early August. And I’m gonna go out there and try to make (Jays general manager) Ross Atkins look like a genius.”

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Plus, the pay was good, too.

Kiermaier is guaranteed $9 million, with the chance to earn another $750,000 in incentives based on days he spends on the active roster (as opposed to the injured list). Added to the $2.5 million buyout from the Rays, he just about matched the $13 million he would have made, and he can be a free agent again next season.

Overall, Kiermaier said he couldn’t have been happier with how things worked out, with the added bonus of getting to live at home for spring training, and play in a familiar city and stadium (where he has a .287 average and .833 OPS, among his best of any AL parks).

And he couldn’t feel any better. His hip rehab is ahead of schedule, the recovery has “pumped so much life back into me” and he plans to showcase his skills all over the field. “I’m so happy now,” he said. “I’m ready to prove to these guys that I’m healthy and I can stay on that field the full season.”

But the change is going to take some getting used to.

“I don’t think it’s still fully settled in yet,” Kiermaier said. “But this is a new journey. This is a new adventure for me. I’m just so excited to show a different group of guys what I have to offer. ... Watching these guys from the opposition has been so fun and for me to be a part of that and wear Toronto across my chest, I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t excited. I can’t wait. I can’t wait to play for a country, essentially. ...

“We can win a lot of ballgames and make a lot of great things happen. We’ll see how we mesh with each other but I have all the confidence in the world that it’s going to be a great fit for all parties. And putting on a different shade of blue will be a great thing as well. I think it’ll complement my eyes a little bit.”

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