The Yankees are this winter, and one name theyve discu sed as a po sibility is free agent , . The longtime division rival has spent his entire career to this point with the Rays and the Blue Jays. Although hes now squarely in his mid-30s, the 34-year-old Kiermaier remains one of the preeminent defensive center fielders in baseball. He signed a one-year deal with Toronto last offseason after undergoing season-ending hip surgery with Tampa Bay in 2022 and showed minimal ill effects, posting gaudy marks of 18 Defensive Runs Saved and 13 Outs Above Average in 981 innings of center field work. He also turned in an above-average line at the plate, batting .265/.322/.419. Kiermaier added 14 steals (in 15 attempts), popped eight home runs and tallied 21 doubles and six triples. Its a tantalizing package of talent, but Kiermaiers durability or rather, his lack thereof has limited his career to this point. He avoided any notable injuries in 2023, mi sing time only due to an elbow laceration, but hes averaged just 105 games per 162-game season dating back to 2017. Overall, hes played in just 65.7% of his teams po sible games in that time, owing to a litany of injuries. That includes not only the aforementioned hip surgery, Hassan Whiteside Jersey but also a wrist sprain, a torn ligament in his thumb, a hip fracture and a broken hand. While some of the injuries have been standard-fare bad luck, the devil-may-care level of reckle s abandon with which Kiermaier plays center field also leaves him prone to injury. Hes a clear-cut elite defender, but his willingne s to dive for balls and crash into the outfield wall at full speed have been to the detriment of his health at times. That said, Kiermaiers left-handed bat would be a nice fit with the Yankees short porch. Hes long had roughly average power output career .159 ISO, career-high 15 home runs but its easy to see Yankee Stadium producing a few extra long balls for him if he can remain healthy. Thats far from a guarantee, given his track record, but Kiermaier would give the Yanks a left-handed bat and premium defender something theyve recently lacked in the outfield. In the likely event that he mi ses time, has shown himself capable of sliding over to center field. Kiermaier signed a one-year, $9MM contract last winter coming off hip surgery. It stands to reason that he ought to command a notably larger deal coming off a healthy and productive season particularly given the lack of quality outfielders on the free agent market. Whether hell command a guaranteed multi-year deal with such a lengthy injury history remains an open question, but he certainly has the case to push for one after a strong all-around 23 campaign in Toronto. Harry Gilles III Jersey