According to Jeff Passan of ESPN (@JeffPassan on “X”), the Toronto Blue Jays traded INF Isiah Kiner-Falefa to the Pittsburgh Pirates in exchange for infield prospect Charles McAdoo. Kiner-Falefa was hitting better than he has in his career, with a .758 OPS and 116 wRC+ in 83 games for Toronto. Meanwhile, McAdoo, the Pirates’ 29th ranked prospect (per MLB.com), has been turning heads offensively in AA with an .838 OPS. In A+ ball, McAdoo’s OPS was a whopping .975. The 22-year-old is expected to reach the big leagues in 2026 (per MLB.com)
IKF’s Short (But Sweet) Stint With Toronto
Isiah Kiner-Falefa signed a 2-year, $15 million contract with the Blue Jays during the 2024 offseason. Despite flirting with the .700 OPS mark multiple times throughout his career, “IKF” was never able to reach the benchmark and was struggling offensively since 2018 in the OPS department. Finally, he was able to reach and maintain the mark in 2024 for 83 games until Kiner-Falefa experienced a left knee sprain that landed him on the IL. The 29-year-old pummelled 7 home runs in his stint with Toronto, which is 1 off of his career-high from 2021.
Charles McAdoo: Extremely High Upside
Charles McAdoo is primarily a third-baseman, but he’s also played 1B, 2B, LF, and RF throughout his minor league career. This versatility could allow him to see more playing time if he makes it to the show, as 3B is seemingly held by fellow prospect Orelvis Martinez, so McAdoo could see stints at DH and around the diamond on defence. McAdoo also brings the power to a Blue Jays team that has been putrid in the past couple years. Toronto currently ranks 26th as a team in total home runs (100), so McAdoo’s .538 SLG% and 14 HRs across 87 MiLB contests in 2024 could provide the Blue Jays with improvement in the power area.
GM Ross Atkins: Saving His Job?
Overall, the Blue Jays were able to flip an overperforming infielder for an impressive slugging prospect who has high upside. GM Ross Atkins had already done extremely well this trade deadline with the Yusei Kikuchi trade, but this deal is also impressing Blue Jays fans across Canada.
As the old saying goes, “Buy low, sell high.”