The Pirates have placed veteran infielder Isiah Kiner-Falefa on outright waivers, Noah Hiles of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports. He’ll be available to all 29 other clubs, with waiver priority determined based on the reverse order of the MLB-wide standings. (Outright waiver priority is not league-specific like the now-defunct revocable August trade waivers were.)
Because he has not been designated for assignment, Kiner-Falefa can continue to play while on waivers. If another team claims him, which seems plausible, he’d be postseason-eligible because he’d join that club before Sept. 1. (Waivers are a 48-hour process.) He’s being paid $7.5MM this season, with about $1.21MM of that sum yet to be paid out.
The Pirates do not have to assign him outright to a minor league affiliate if he goes unclaimed. They could do so if they choose, but Kiner-Falefa would have the right to then elect free agency and retain the remainder of his guaranteed money. They could also opt to simply release Kiner-Falefa if he goes unclaimed, as the Guardians did with veteran first baseman Carlos Santana, which would give him one more chance to jump into a playoff hunt between now and season’s end.
In 419 plate appearances, Kiner-Falefa is batting .268/.304/.337. It’s a light batting line (78 wRC+), but he’s gone 15-for-19 in stolen base attempts and played a respectable shortstop this season. Kiner-Falefa is a versatile defender with experience at short, second base, third base and all three outfield spots.
The Pirates somewhat surprisingly didn’t trade Kiner-Falefa at the deadline. Presumably, his middling offensive contributions didn’t garner strong interest. However, as teams gear up for the stretch run and look to deepen their benches, Kiner-Falefa’s brand of speed, contact (15.5% strikeout rate) and defensive versatility could hold appeal. He’s struggling quite a bit against lefties this year, despite being a right-handed bat, but he entered the season with more or less neutral platoon splits in his career.
For the Bucs, the waiver route presents an opportunity to trim some payroll and to afford a veteran player the opportunity to join a postseason chase in the season’s final month. By waiting until the end of the month to make the move, they made it as affordable as possible for teams with interest in claiming him. Kiner-Falefa’s contract does contain $250K bonuses for reaching 500 and 550 plate appearances, but he’s 81 shy of that mark right now thanks largely to a monthlong stay on the IL for a hamstring strain back in April/May.
If another club claims Kiner-Falefa, it’d open more at-bats for younger infield options. There’s no way the Bucs would call up 19-year-old Konnor Griffin, currently ranked as MLB’s top prospect, when he has just eight games above A-ball to his credit right now, but they could give some reps to former trade acquisitions like Nick Yorke or Cam Devanney in the season’s final month.
Why not didn’t Yankees try and get IKF in the Bednar deal. I guess they asked for Jones and Lombard.
Well the Yankees can get him now for free if they want him.
They already have a utility guy that can hit in Amed Rosario
Claim IKF off waivers, keep Rosario, option Volpe to Scranton. Could give the Yankees the jump-start they need to catch Toronto.
IKF had a low 500 ops June and July. And there was a lot of players available for trade. Better players. He rebounded in August and a lot can happen to teams in a month so possible he gets claimed now that it doesn’t cost a prospect.
Well, it won’t be free, they would have to pay IKF’s remaining salary
Oh GreatWhiteAnus, this is certainly free by Yankee standards
is there really a need to get crude?
Hey Man3, he’s not being crude, he’s just expressing himself in a way that shows his personal interests.
Yankees fans hate IKF because he had a down year with them in 2023. Yankees fans never forgive that.
And Yankee fans hate Volpe more since he leads the American League in errors.
I like IKF, for what he is, but he is definitely hated by most Yankee fans. Idk what their expectations were of him, I found it really strange to be honest. Light hitting utility guy – he played every position except catcher an 1B. He came as advertised and hit 250 over 2 seasons. He wasn’t the gold glover he was in texas – but they also moved him out of his gold glove position.
Yanks fans should feel the same way about the teams abismal performance the last 20+ years regarding WS appearances/wins.
With the money they have to spend on players year in and year out, it’s a down right embarrassment.
Your spelling of “abysmal” is downright embarrassing.
It is embarrassing for the Yankees, their standards have been set extremely high. For any other team it would be seen as a great run. Keep that in mind.
Something tells me you root for one of the bottom feeders that refuse to invest in their players, somehow it makes you feel better that the most successful franchise in the history of American sports has had quite the dry spell. There’s a part of you that wishes your team could go 30 years without a losing record and be a perennial occupant in the MLB playoffs. Unfortunately that doesn’t cut it in NY. Win it all or the season is a failure.
Maybe you’re the kind of person who celebrates division championships and blames their teams lack of success on “being in a small market”. Maybe the idea of having high expectations scares you, not because of the excitement but the fear of failing is overwhelming. Maybe you couldn’t handle being a Yankee fan because you’re safe in your little bubble of a team without any real expectations.
But,hey,who knows.
NY-The Yankees were indeed one of the top dynasties in all of sports.The number of championships in the last century proves that beyond any doubt.
But this is this century,and only once has that occurred.
The ability to pay such ultra high salaries to get the best players is one that very few teams have,including some of the large market teams.
If you do not understand that baseball is a business designed around the richest teams then you do not understand baseball.
He needs some PeptoBismal.
Don’t you understand, he sits on his couch and watches the Yankees.
Not some podunk team.
The NEW YORK YANKEES.
And that makes him superior as a human being, obviously.
Most Yankee fans are fine but some are condescending and they are ripe for the picking.
Nah, it’s just fun to hate the Yankees.
McMahon is an elite fielder at 3B with some pop, and Rosario hits lefties. Cabellero plays everywhere. No room at the inn for IKF.
Thank goodness GMBC didn’t trade him at the deadline.
It takes two to tango. A team may want to trade someone off their roster but there has to be another team willing to take the player at a reasonable price/cost.
There was buzz about multiple teams being interested. Settling for nothing doesn’t prove any points worth making.
Even though IKF has been horrible with the bat since the start of June, I find it hard to believe there was next to no interest in him at the deadline. He is playable at shortstop, and is a good defensive 3B and 2B. He also consistently provides good value on the basepaths. I’, sure no team was looking at him as a fulltime replacement at SS/2B/3B, but there are far worse part-time infield utility guys out there, and there are also definitley teams who could use him off their bench down the stretch. Even if the only things the Pirates got was the Adam Frazier trade (a complete lottery ticket prospect), it’s better than nothing.
Again nobody wanted him
The Giants and Yankees expressed interest in him prior to the deadline. I’d be very shocked if no other teams didn’t show any interest we didn’t hear about, even if it was just kicking the tires, or making the call to check the pricetag. IKF wasn’t some highly sought after player, but there’s no way that no team that thought about contending at the deadline didn’t see him as a possible upgrade on their bench.
IKF has never been good with the bat. He’s a utility guy on a good team, a starter on a bad one
You can trust bright eyes or all the actual insiders who reported there was no interest. At trade deadline there is interest as in wanting to trade for that player and interest as what can I get him for if I can’t get the players I am interested in so we have a deal ready to go 5 minutes before the deadline. Obviously IKF is a piece you settle for and not one you target to put you over the top.
More surprising no one wanted Pham. Can see why but he was more interesting than IKF and Heaney. I talked to everyone I know..even asked Robert Murray and Heyman.
@mlb1225 Not really. IKF was never going to be a good fit for the Yankees. Look how much they’re playing Jose Caballeros now and he’s been mostly late defensive subbing for Stanton. I’m sure it was probably another Heyman rumor.
For once, the Pirates kinda made the right move here.
Based on the assumption that they were not offered enough in trade to make it worth their while…letting other teams know they actually have to pay a price by not trading him for nothing while still doing right by the player is solid.
This was absolutely the wrong move. They could have got something back in trade for hom in July. Instead they will get nothing for him. And they had to pay him for the month of August too.
Getting something is not always better than getting nothing. If you like all your current minor league players better than the guy offered for him, then it is better not to trade. Just getting a name on a page does nothing if you don’t have a real place for him to develop.
Nice theory, but not a realistic one. No organization likes all of their minor leaguers. The majority of minor leaguers are not future major leaguers. They are simply there to be used as roster filler, and to provide a framework/infrastructure in which the real prospects can learn and grow. Even at double-A, only 1 out of 3 players who reach that level will ever make it to the majors. And many of those will not stick or have full careers there. For single-A, that number is 1 out of 6.
Getting something is always better than getting nothing. Seriously dude. And its not just the return in trade they could have saved themselves some money and spent that money in 2054 when they plan on contending again.
I didn’t say they had to like all of their minor leaguers. I said they just had to like their current options BETTER than the guy being offered. Or at the very least they might not see the offer as better than their current options. With the fewer minor league teams, there are fewer spots available now than in the past.
And with nearly 200 players in each club’s minor league system, that is still a very unlikely result.
“With the fewer minor league teams, there are fewer spots available now than in the past.”
Also a theoretical, but not practical response. The leagues that were contracted were advanced rookie and short-A. How often did you see a major leaguer traded for players at those levels? Maybe as a throw-in on a multi-player package. But IKF was not going to draw a multi-player.
As for the actual numbers, some orgs did not even have teams at those contracted levels. And the roster spots for the remaining levels were expanded. So [even] if an org had teams at both of those levels, they lost about 30 spots out of what used to be 235 or so.
But you don’t compare him to every other player in the organization. You compare him to the other players at the position he would be playing. If you are acquiring a catcher, you don’t really need to care if you think he is a better athlete than one f your relief pitchers. You compare him to the other 8-10 catchers in your system.
“Only” 30 out of 235? That is about 15% of your total. That is significant. Although I would question your counting skills. Two minor league teams are not going to have just 15 players each. You are probably looking at around 50-60 players instead of 30. Which would push your percentage up to about 20-25% of your total. Again, significant.
Why do you only compare the offer to the player at the same position? A team can’t trade a 2nd baseman for an outfielder or a pitcher?
There are four full-season leagues in every organization which carry far more than just 15 players. . There is also rookie league, which can carry up to 60 players. There is also a “temporarily inactve” list. Plus, they can send players to ‘developmental camp’ to exempt them from those roster limits. Plus another 60 in rookie league.
There was no interest in IKF. I asked at least half a dozen people who would know. And the trades made confirm it. Better players were traded.
If the Padres or some other desperate team claim him, it could save the Pirates over $1m. It’s quite possible that any trade deadline offers for IKF required the Pirates to eat all of his salary in return for a middling prospect at best. That $1m, if applied to the draft or international spending or even getting a slightly better FA this winter than they otherwise could have obtained (and who will undoubtedly be traded at next year’s trade deadline), very easily could lead to a higher ROI than if they traded IKF a month ago.
Sure, Pittsburgh’s ownership is likely to just pocket the money, but that is a much larger issue beyond this one.
Seems like a catch 22. Either IKF ends up on a contender (the outcome suggested by the Pirates doing right by him) for nothing, which hardly teaches other teams a lesson about meeting their asking price at the deadline. Or he gets picked off waivers by a non-contender higher on the waiver priority list.
It depends. If there were multiple teams wanting him, only one will get him. It will teach the others to pony up and get him if they want him.
It definitely teaches teams. Teaches them that when Cherington bluffs he might not be bluffing. In this case IKF wasn’t in demand but if he was it would teach teams. Any team could have traded for him. Now they have to hope they are only team interested or he won’t fall to them.
The Brewers look like the team that could use him at SS the most. His versatility might prevent him from reaching there on the waiver wire though.
Ortiz is due back soon. He’s a much better defensive SS and is developing into a decent offensive player, as well.
Plus the team with the best record in baseball would be last in line to claim him.
If nothing else, I’d rather have him on the lineup during Caleb Durbin’s off days than Siegler/
Yep, but maybe the real question (apart from money…which I know is also a real question haha) is whether, when Joey O went down with the hamstring strain, the club would have preferred to be able to plug in IKF or Andruw Monasterio. Much as we all love Mona. It still may be relevant if Joey’s recovery doesn’t go to plan. I don’t think there’d be any question of them bumping a healthy JO for IKF though.
I was gonna say the same thing Tmac. Ortiz has impressed me this year. We’re more in need of ss depth at this point with bogaerts going down
Bro..he’s going to KC or cincy. Priority on waivers.
Is he due a performance bonus Bob Nutting doesn’t want to pay?
Ha!
Is it just me or are the pirates the only team that (routinely) releases a player so they don’t make more money
Most teams want their players to reach the bonus because it’s the right thing to do but not the pirates
Rowdy stunk in September deserved to be dfa bonus or not. Should have done it in August though so he could possibly find another team. Maybe he didn’t want to go which would make me want to get his non competitive fat as off team even more.
Heaney been awful since late April. Seems they only kept him around to give him 1 bonus. I wouldn’t have given him any.
IKF though waa bad and I don’t believe their we had no idea story although they are pretty freaking incompetent sometimes.
Most teams may want to pay the bonus which means that the players were playing well but the two players mentioned Tellez and Heaney absolutely did not deserve the bonus money.
They may very have partially done this IKF release to give a good solid player who has hustled every game that he has played with the Pirates a chance to play for a playoff team.
Rowdy stunk all year. Yes he had his moments but in general he was a bad fit for this team. He was also the cheaper option for first base since Santana wanted to come back but he was $2 million dollars more expensive
He had a bonus last year and Pirates benched him final game of season so either A he didn’t have to play on wet grass after recovered from knee injury 2 months ago or B if you are into crazy conspiracy theory so they didn’t have to pay him his bonus.
When asked no one in the Pirates organization had any idea he was nearing the bonus. They offered to put him in lineup to get it he declined.
looking at all the playoff contenders i don’t see an obvious landing spot but if he must be placed somewhere i would agree brewers may be it for his speed and versatility
Tigers.
Plus, the Brewers manager seeks those type of players. Scrappy, risk takers, hit to all fields, etc. I believe he will end up with the Brewers.
Ortiz back soon and Monastario has been a decent backup. (IKF would be better than Seigler, however…he’s most likely to be sent down when Hoskins returns soon.)
He will still be on the roster unless someone claims him, which would not surprise me.
At least by doing this now he has a chance to catch on with a playoff contender and still be eligible for the playoffs.
I’ll at least give BC the credit for trying to give him a chance to win
Trimming payroll is more important to Cherington than wanting IKF to play for a contender
Won’t disagree but be could have done like he did with tellez last year. Or even waited till next week. I’ll never argue that BC isn’t looking to save money.
I think that they also wanted to do a good deed for a classy and respectful player.
Trimming payroll is more important to Nutting…
fixed
The Reds could use him at second base. McClain isn’t doing so well
Lux seems a better fit as a McLain replacement. He hits better.
Completely agree. Reds would be fools not to claim him if he’s still available in the pecking order.
No. Just no.
They would rather call up Stewart and save a few bucks anyway.
Don’t you think they tried to make trades for pham,kiner-falefa and heaney and others? How many times must you hear “nobody wanted them”.
I can see why no one wanted Heaney, but I highly doubt there was zero interest in Pham or IKF. Pham has been red hot since changing his eye perscription. He was batting .402 with a 204 wRC+ from the time of getting his new contacts, and the trade deadline. He has also been playing solid outfield defense all year. IKF is a solid glove at SS/2B/3B and would probably benefit a ton from a a part-time role, rather than playing fulltime. I’m not saying there were teams busting down the door for any of them, just that worse players are dealt every deadline, and that no one saw either IKF or Pham as decent bench pieces.
IKF makes way more money than he’s worth. Pham has played for 11 teams.
There are reasons why both guys didn’t get traded
Since you work in baseball bright eyes maybe pay attention to what baseball insiders say instead of going around saying there was interest when all the insiders say there wasn’t.
Probably one of the highest batting averages on the Pirates.
And one of the worst OPS+ on the Pirates too
For who we got in return in the Bednar, Frazier, Ferguson and Falter trades, I am glad Cherington didn’t try to trade veterans
Low A or a couple of never will be’s
For those that think getting nothing is better than a lottery ticket RP, I don’t understand. I think BC just overplayed his hand. Much like the WS with Robert. PT would’ve saved money, gotten a look at Yorke, picked up someone that might’ve someday made the BP and saved some money. Bad move imo.
The most frustrating part of not trading IKF was not opening a door for some of their minor leaguers. Yorke is one of them, but Cam Devanney as well. Even if the player they get back from a IKF deal amounts to nothing, you at least give another player a chance.
If IKF is moved, I could see PIT giving Kriedler a look at SS, before they have to make a roster decision on him in the off season.
Gross. Take that back.
I believe a team capable of getting the best player in the draft 3 years in a row knows what they have in Yorke Devanney.
At deadline teams were getting platoons with 800 900 ops. Elite defense. IKF is just a versatile guy with no power. June July 500 something ops so bad timing there.
This guy is so underrated. Don’t let myopic Yankee fans dominate the narrative on him. This is a plus player. Hits well and plays plus defense.
Your whole comment is “blah blah blah”
Every current starter on the Pirates not named Jack has a higher OPS+ than IKF. Every single one.
Cherry picking player hater. Defense and versatility matter.
Every non-contender should look to move almost any non-2026 players. BC just blew it.
How he blow it? He just gave teams opportunity to get Heaney IKF.
Pham is actually good and cheaper and well respected leader so they probably keep him to get team through September and unlike IKF Heaney he isn’t blocking any potential useful players.
Pham has clearly shown to be the best hitter on the team so it has been fortuitous for the Pirates that his reputation precedes him.
Brewers! Get him! IKF is at least as good as Joey Ortiz
Rangers have probably lost Seager for the rest of the season so there’s a possibility. Tigers couid probably use him as well.
While it’s doing the right thing by IKF by giving him the chance to play in the postseason, the Bucs couldn’t even get international slot money for him at the deadline?
That’s what I’m saying. They were able to get that for Jarrod Dyson in 2020, and Austin Hedges in 2023.
2020 2023 isn’t 2025. Most teams spend their cash. If they still have it that means it is pretty useless for them. And if there is no prospects on the pirates radar to sign it’s useless to them. See how stars need to align.
No interest in IKF. Hopefully now there is.
Even if there was interest the return would be nothing. I wouldn’t even give a 17 year old lotto ticket for him. It would be a failed prospect who isn’t 40 man worthy.
I’d be shocked if hes not on the Yankees by the end of the week
Prepare to be shocked
Meanwhile, the Pirates red headed stepchild Nick Yorke remains in the minors.
And Quinn Priester who was traded initially to Boston for Yorke and is now helping the Brewers pitch for the opportunity to get into the playoffs
Trashman needs to grab IKF but fast. With rosters expanding Monday, the Bombers won’t have to send Volpe to Scranton or DFA Rosario.
IKF can platoon with weak hitting McMahan at third while spelling Volpe at short. A no brainer pickup for the Yank-aboos.
He may not get down to the Yankees on the waivers list.
What we don’t know is whether IKF asked to be placed on waivers. These things are fairly common these days. Lots of non-contenders put expensive names on waivers to see if there are takers for a variety of reasons. Few of those teams are ever accused of doing anything nefarious, it’s just business.
If some team does grab IKF, it’s really a win-win in the sense that he gets the chance to play in the postseason and the Pirates can get a look at Devanney.. And money is money, if you can offload expenses, any business owner would be utterly stupid not to do it.
This is off topic but is worth noting
For those who wish Cutch retire at the end of the season, he was the only starter in last night’s game not to strike out against the Red Sox phenom rookie pitcher and instead hit 2 doubles, a single, drew a walk, and drove in a run
Reynolds on the other hand, and 8 years younger, struck out 3 times
Cutch has always had a near perfect command of the strike zone. Has allowed him to garner over 2,200 hits and an exemplary OBP. He will certainly get HOF votes when the time comes. BRey is no slouch either although having a down year. One doesn’t get 20 WAR in 5 years (non-COVID) without excellent skills.
Reynolds looks like Andrew Benintendi (statistically) these days.
He was hitting well after the AS break.
Pirates fans hope that this is just a down year.
Makes some sense for Mets as backup SS, so they can send Mauricio back to Syracuse to play every day.
San Diego. Or back to Texas
Hes a good guy coming off the bech on a contending team
BTC- I like good guys who hustle and hope that IKF gets his chance to play on a WS winner this year.
Right, the New York Yankees…
I was unaware you could be placed on outright waivers and still play?
Correct. Once claimed, he’s done. And if he was DFA’d then he’d be unplayable. Multiple players are placed on Irrevocable Waivers every Season, never claimed and continue to play on.
I was confused about this also. Thanks for the explanation, buddy.
*hat tip*