Blue Jays sell-off begins early with surprising move

The 2024 MLB season has not gone how the Toronto Blue Jays had hoped. The ball club holds a 43-50 record, which positions them in last place in the competitive American League East.

Toronto sits 14 games behind the Baltimore Orioles for the division lead and 8.5 games behind for the final American League wild card spot. At this point, it's clear that the season is over. The Blue Jays are obvious candidates to deconstruct their roster ahead of the trade deadline on July 30, and they may be getting a head start on offloading their roster.

The Blue Jays placed veteran outfielder Kevin Kiermaier on revocable waivers, according to Joel Sherman of the New York Post.

Kiermaier isn't designated for assignment or removed from the active roster, which means he's allowed to keep playing for the Blue Jays while he remains on revocable waivers. If a team claimed him, Toronto would have the option to add him back to their roster. Neither option is likely to happen, however.

Blue Jays start the process of shedding players before trade deadline

Arden Zwelling and Shi Davidi of Sportsnet spoke with Kiermaier after the team notified him that he was placed on waivers. Kiermaier wasn't caught off guard by the move and understands the situation the team is in, according to Zwelling.

"I totally get it with the way that I've played," Kiermaier said. "I don't get emotional over things like that or things that might tick other people off. We'll see what happens. ... I'm not offended, not mad. You've got to be realistic about the situation and be accountable."

Kiermaier is traveling with the Blue Jays and expects to play against the Arizona Diamondbacks on Friday.

"I promise you I'll be able to go out there and play like I always do — hopefully better," Kiermaier said. "It's more of a wakeup call than anything — saying, hey, I don't know how much time I do have left in a certain way. So, if that's the case, I'm going to embrace everyone around here like I always do. Just take it day by day and see what happens."

Toronto was likely hoping a team would put in a claim for the 34-year-old outfielder, who still has approximately $4.5 million left on his one-year, $10.5 million deal. The Blue Jays will likely attempt to shed salary to make their way below the $237 million first luxury tax threshold before the trade deadline. Currently, they are roughly $10 million over that figure.

Kiermaier was hitting just .183 with a 48 OPS+ through Tuesday, which was the seventh-worth in the majors among hitters with at least 175 plate appearances.