Mound Visit: Kiner-Falefa's career carved from confidence, grit

The Pirates have been in desperate need for offense in order to better complement a pitching staff that's pretty much ready to compete in the postseason. Part of Ben Cherington's solution was bringing in Isiah Kiner-Falefa from the Blue Jays.

The addition of Kiner-Falefa could be key because of Nick Gonzales' groin injury, and it's also cool to know that he is distantly related to Pirates legend Ralph Kiner.

But outside of his distant ties to Pirates history, the club is getting a true baseball player. After previously covering him for two seasons with the Rangers, that's honestly the best way I can describe him. No flash, just a guy who plays the game hard.

"This is a guy who is a premium defender at multiple spots on the field," Cherington told reporters via Zoom Tuesday night. "He’s been a good offensive producer, certainly this year he’s been a really good offensive producer. Exceptional reputation as a teammate, winning player, can play all over the field. This is a player we think can help us the rest of the way this year and certainly next year also."

Kiner-Falefa is in the middle of his best offensive season, slashing .292/.338/.420 with seven home runs and 33 RBIs. His .758 OPS is respectable, but his defense makes him a more valuable player, which is why he currently owns a 3.1 bWAR, the same exact mark as All-Star Bryan Reynolds.

This kind of two-way ability, while also possessing the ability to play multiple positions, can help the Pirates more than people think. But, when you get to know Kiner-Falefa a little bit better, he can be a guy that can become quite popular in a blue-collar city such as Pittsburgh.

Kiner-Falefa has made a career for himself by working his tail off, doing pretty much whatever's asked of him. An infielder by trade, Kiner-Falefa accepted an assignment to become a full-time catcher in 2019 because the Rangers were terribly thin at the position. The transition went terribly for both parties as Kiner-Falefa didn't pan out behind the plate, despite putting on a bunch of weight to handle the physical demands of the job. His offensive numbers also took a steep decline, setting careers lows with a .620 OPS and 58 OPS+. His body took a huge beating, and the Rangers called an audible before the season concluded.

In 2020, Kiner-Falefa got back down to his regular weight and wowed the Rangers and fans alike with a monster spring training, both mashing the ball through the Arizona sky and flashing a stellar glove at third base. The COVID-19 pandemic robbed Kiner-Falefa of an opportunity to build on what he did in Cactus League action, but he managed to make the most of the truncated season by slashing .280/.329/.370 in 58 games and won a Gold Glove for his play at the hot corner.

The 2021 season was the first time Kiner-Falefa really displayed any kind of swagger. He went into the season convinced that he could be the Rangers' everyday shortstop, telling reporters at the outset of spring training, "I'm a shortstop. I'm an elite shortstop, and I'm ready to prove it."

In terms of bWAR, Kiner-Falefa's 2021 campaign is the best of his career, posting a 3.6 bWAR, with a 2.0 defensive bWAR. He slashed a modest .271/.312/.357 with a career-high eight home runs and 53 RBIs while playing in 158 games during that season. His numbers declined after he was snubbed in All-Star voting, despite ranking in the top three in the American League in batting average, hits, steals, bWAR, defensive bWAR and fWAR by midseason. 

The Rangers parted ways with Kiner-Falefa after the 2021 season, as they made a massive upgrade at shortstop by signing Corey Seager in free agency. Kiner-Falefa was initially thought to move back over to third base, but that was earmarked for top prospect Josh Jung. So, general manager Chris Young shipped Kiner-Falefa to Minnesota in exchange for Mitch Garver, and then the Twins turned around immediately and sent Kiner-Falefa to the Yankees.

The 2022 season wound up being Kiner-Falefa's last as a full-time shortstop. After one season of holding down the position, the Yankees made him into a super utility player in 2023, playing the majority of the time in left field, center field and third base, and making at least one appearance at every position on the field except -- ironically enough -- catcher. Over the two seasons with the Yankees, Kiner-Falefa slashed .253/.311/.333 with 10 home runs and 85 RBIs in 255 games.

At the plate, Kiner-Falefa doesn't hit the ball very hard. According to Baseball Savant, in his best offensive season thus far, he ranks in the fourth percentile in barrel percentage and average exit velocity, and ranks in the sixth percentile in hard-hit percentage. Those marks go right along with his career norms, outside of last season when he ranked in the 39th percentile in average exit velocity and 40th percentile in hard-hit percentage. But, even as outliers, those aren't good marks.

However, despite not hitting the ball hard very often., Kiner-Falefa has superb bat control and plate discipline. This season, he ranks in the 94th percentile in strikeout percentage and 96th percentile in whiff percentage. As it is with the bad numbers, these align with Kiner-Falefa's career norms. Since 2020, he's ranked at least in the 92nd percentile in both stats, outside of the 2023 season.

Now, just because Kiner-Falefa doesn't hit the ball that hard all that often, it doesn't mean he doesn't know how to find the gaps every now and then:

Because of the type of hitter he is, Kiner-Falefa will put the ball in play a lot, but he also manages to do that without grounding into too many double plays. The most he's grounded into since 2020 is 13 during the 2022 season.

Defensively, Kiner-Falefa is extremely athletic, much more than most people might think. This is the main reason why he's a guy that can transition from position to position without skipping a beat.

He's also a very, very good baserunner. He's really instinctive, which was never more on display than this steal of home with the Yankees:

And, again, Kiner-Falefa is an extremely hard worker. He goes about his business with a quiet confidence. He's not overly loud or vocal, but he shows up to the ballpark every day ready to compete at the highest level possible.

As I said before, he's just a baseball player. And, he should be a nice addition to the bottom third of the lineup as a high-contact guy.