The Blue Jays have placed Kevin Kiermaier on revocable waivers, The Washington Post has learned.
Toronto was almost certain to wait to see whether a team would stake a claim on the veteran center fielder and shed about $4.5 million remaining on the one-year, $10.5 million contract he signed last offseason.
Few teams would be willing to make that kind of financial commitment to a player who is struggling as much as Kiermaier is.
It’s a sign the disappointing Blue Jays are in selling mode, and also an attempt to see if they can make enough cuts between now and the July 30 trade deadline to get under the $237 million first luxury tax threshold.
Toronto is projected to exceed that figure by roughly $10 million.
While the 34-year-old Kiermaier remains a top-tier center fielder, the Blue Jays’ offense continues to disappoint.
Through Tuesday, he was batting .183 with an OPS-plus of just 48, the seventh-worst among players with at least 175 major league plate appearances.
