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Toronto Blue Jays Place Gold Glove Outfielder Kevin Kiermaier on Injured List

Kevin Kiermaier put his body on the line for a web gem on Sunday, slamming into the center field wall at Fenway Park and paying the price.
Sam Connon|
Toronto Blue Jays Place Gold Glove Outfielder Kevin Kiermaier on Injured List
Toronto Blue Jays Place Gold Glove Outfielder Kevin Kiermaier on Injured List

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Toronto Blue Jays

The Toronto Blue Jays have placed outfielder Kevin Kiermaier on the 10-day injured list due to a right elbow laceration, the team announced Tuesday.

Kiermaier suffered the injury Sunday against the Boston Red Sox, which turned out to be a blowout 13-1 win for the Blue Jays.

The three-time Gold Glove winner drifted back in center field, making a leaping grab up against the garage door for the first out of the bottom of the sixth inning. After nearing doubling up the runner on first, Kiermaier got on-field medical attention from Toronto's training staff.

Daulton Varsho replaced Kiermaier for the remainder of the game.

Kiermaier was 2-for-4 with two RBI and a run before he got subbed out, boosting his 2023 batting average to .274 and his OPS to .750. 

The move was made retroactive to Aug. 7, which means Kiermaier will miss at least the Blue Jays' next eight games. He will be eligible to return ahead of Toronto's three-game road series at the Cincinnati Reds on Aug. 18.

Outfielder Nathan Lukes was recalled from Triple-A Buffalo to take Kiermaier's spot on the major league roster.

Kiermaier is in his first year with the Blue Jays coming off of 10 seasons with the Tampa Bay Rays. He signed a one-year, $9 million contract with Toronto this past winter.

The 33-year-old has played in over 1,000 MLB games since making his big league debut in 2013, but constant injuries and surgeries have sidelined him for extended periods of time over the years. Despite hip, hand and thumb injuries hampering Kiermaier over the years, though, he has still managed to become one of the top defensive players in baseball.

Kiermaier led MLB in defensive WAR in 2015 and 2016, and his career dWAR of 19.3 is the highest among active players. The 2015 Platinum Glove Award winner has 57 outfield assists in his career, compared to just 28 errors.

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Sam Connon
SAM CONNON

Sam Connon is a staff writer covering baseball for “Fastball on SI.’’ He previously covered UCLA Athletics for On SI’s All Bruins site, and is a UCLA graduate, with his work there as a sports columnist receiving awards from the College Media Association and Society of Professional Journalists. Connon also wrote for On SI’s New England Patriots site, Patriots Country, and he was on the Patriots and Boston Red Sox beats at Prime Time Sports Talk. Sam lives in Boston.

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