Isiah Kiner-Falefa has been traded three times in his career. Once, he was traded two times in a span of two days.
Changing teams is merely part of the process for the 31 year-old veteran, who’s in his first season in Boston after stints with the Texas Rangers, New York Yankees, Toronto Blue Jays, Pittsburgh Pirates and Minnesota Twins (who traded him after one day in 2022).
Many of Kiner-Falefa’s younger teammates have only played for the Red Sox organization. So while his admonition after the Toronto Blue Jays swept a three-game series at Fenway Park on June 18 might have sounded cliché to some, it had the potential to send a dire message inside the clubhouse.
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“We got swept at home,” Kiner-Falefa said. “Swept at home in division. It doesn’t get worse than that. It’s time to go on a streak or we’re going to be having new players in this locker room. We’ve just got to figure it out.”
Boston is 29-43 after the Blue Jays scored a run in the ninth inning to lock down a 4-3 victory in the series finale. No American League team has fewer victories this year than the Red Sox, who began the season with ambitions of contending for a championship.
Veteran Red Sox pitcher Sonny Gray was even more succinct than Kiner-Falefa.
“We’re not good,” Gray said. “We’re just not a good team right now, and that’s just a fact.”
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The Red Sox have scored 282 runs this season, the fewest in the American League and more than only the San Diego Padres (280). Their 16-game deficit in the East is growing. Their 6.5-game deficit in the Wild Card race is making it harder to justify holding onto key players as the Aug. 3 trade deadline approaches.
Kiner-Falefa, ironically, is one of the team’s more attractive trade chips. He’s slashing .277/.344/.361. His expiring $6 million contract and positional versatility make him an easy roster and payroll fit on almost any contending team.
Few others in the struggling Red Sox lineup can say the same. Those who remain in Boston past the trade deadline will likely be playing to improve their outlook for 2027. Kiner-Falefa might be one of the few still playing for 2026 into August and September.
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