IKF thrilled to be back with Blue Jays: 'There's a high level of loyalty'

CINCINNATI -- It was a quick turnaround, but Isiah Kiner-Falefa was more than happy to make the five-hour drive Sunday night and make his way to Cincinnati to rejoin his Blue Jays teammates for Monday’s matinee against the Reds.

After flying back to Pittsburgh from Boston, where his former Pirates team was playing the Red Sox over the weekend, Kiner-Falefa made it back to the Steel City to pack his personal belongings, hop in a car and make the journey so he could be available for the 1 p.m. ET first pitch at Great American Ball Park.

“I packed up for about an hour, left at nine, 9:30 [p.m.] and then got in at 2:30 [a.m.] at the hotel,” Kiner-Falefa said.

Kiner-Falefa, who was claimed off waivers by the Blue Jays on Sunday, was only too happy to make that trip to join the team that traded him in 2024 and be reunited with a lot of familiar faces.

“I’m really excited coming here,” said Kiner-Falefa, who signed with Toronto as a free agent before the 2024 season. “Just jumping in the race, it's a good time to be here. I obviously wanted to play here last year. To get an opportunity to come back is great.”

Kiner-Falefa was slashing .264/.300/.332 in 119 games with the Pirates this season, but the stat that stands out -- and could possibly help the Blue Jays late in games -- is on the bases. He stole 15 bases in 19 attempts.

“The team's in the race,” Kiner-Falefa added. “I'm really excited, and I'm willing to do whatever the team needs me to do, try to be the best bench player I could be and just use my versatility. So I'm excited to help the team. And like I said, these are the guys who trusted me last year, gave me an opportunity, and for them to claim me, it means a lot to me.”

Kiner-Falefa could be a very valuable piece off the bench to manager John Schneider, who is already familiar with what the 30-year-old utilityman brings.

“I think we obviously know him and the versatility [he brings], the contact ability, the baserunning,” Scheider said. “Just a winning player to bring into this culture that we have here and allows us to do a lot of different things both off the bench, versus lefties. So, happy to have him back.”

Kiner-Falefa, traded to Pittsburgh for infield prospect Charles McAdoo at the 2024 Trade Deadline, had a feeling when he was placed on waivers after his last game with the Pirates on Saturday in Boston that a certain team might be interested.

“It was a mutual match. It was a fit. It's always been a fit,” Kiner-Falefa said. “And for them to trade me away and see the value in me, to pick me up and take on the contract, the rest of my contract, it means that they want me. So that's two times that other teams had a chance to get me, and they decided to be the team. So yeah, there's a high level of loyalty for me and the Blue Jays, and I'm very excited to be here.”