Dodgers Outfielder to Retire Following Conclusion of 2024 Season

Maren Angus-Coombs | Aug 1, 2024

Nick Turchiaro-USA TODAY Sports

Longtime Tampa Bay Rays and newly acquired Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder Kevin Kiermaier plans to retire at the end of this season.

Kiermaier broke the news before the Toronto Blue Jays dealt him to the Dodgers in a last-minute trade deadline deal.

“This is it, 2024 is it for me,” Kiermaier told the Tampa Bay Times before Wednesday’s game against the Rays. “This next week will be very interesting (in terms of a potential trade). But this will be my last year playing.

“I’m going to give it my all the rest of the year regardless of what situation I’m in. But my body is talking to me now more than ever.”

Kiermaier's decision wasn't sudden, the wear and tear on his body from years on diving and making highlight reel plays contributed to it.

“The way I reflect on it, the product I put on the field now still can be good, but the effort it takes to get it to what I’ve been used to all those years, with my speed and defense and arm and everything, it’s tough,” he said.

“I knew this year was going to be tough just with how I felt last year, and I know as the years go by it’s going to get tougher and tougher. I have my third kid coming in December, and it’s time for me to be a dad and let my body recover.”

Kevin Kiermaier with a message to Blue Jays fans. 💙

📽️: @KKiermaier39 pic.twitter.com/mOkzGkL2SZ

— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) July 31, 2024

The 34-year-old has won four Gold Gloves and one Platinum Glove throughout his 11 seasons in the big leagues. He has been named the Wilson Defensive Player of the Year twice and finished top 10 in American League Most Valuable Player voting once.

His path to this point hasn't been easy. He was a 31st-round pick in the 2010 draft and turned himself into one of the most popular players in Major League Baseball. Being traded to the Dodgers leads one to believe that the Blue Jays sent him to the Dodgers hoping to get him his long-awaited World Series title that eluded him his entire career.

“What a career,” Rays manager Kevin Cash told the Tampa Bay Times. “How fortunate I was to watch for eight years to see the best centerfielder in baseball roam our outfield, making highlight play after highlight play. He got big hits for us. And he really developed into such a positive influence and had a leadership quality with so many young players coming through our system.”

Added Cash, “It’s a really impressive story. How many 31st-rounders have that type of career? The odds were definitely against him early on.”

Playing in Los Angeles will mark the first time in his career that he has played on grass. Kiermaier said playing home games each season on artificial turf, at Tropicana Field and Rogers Centre, was a significant factor in his decision.

“I’d say I deserve an award for playing on turf the way I have the last 11 years,” he said. “I truly don’t think anyone could take the field with my demeanor, truly trying to make plays each and every night. I would go back and do the same thing. Even with how my body feels right now, I would play the exact same way. I really would.”

Kiermaier is having a disappointing season at the plate batting only .195 but he is a career .246 batter with 893 hits, 492 runs scored, 94 home runs, and 370 RBIs.