BOSTON — Isiah Kiner-Falefa wanted Yankees fans to remember him as the one who got away. These days, the memory looks very different.
The veteran infielder made headlines in February. He suggested the Toronto Blue Jays were glad the Yankees, not the Boston Red Sox, advanced past them in the 2025 playoffs. The comment landed like a jab at his old club. It fit a pattern of new Red Sox players taking shots at the Yankees soon after signing. Yankees fans heard it loud and clear. Three months later, the tone from Kiner-Falefa has shifted hard.
Now the former Yankees infielder is the one scrapping to stay relevant. His new team is sinking, and his playing time has nearly vanished.
What Kiner-Falefa told reporters in Boston
Kiner-Falefa spoke to reporters after a tough Tuesday loss. He admitted the lack of at-bats has worn on him.
“I’m fighting for my career, I’m fighting for my life, I’m scrapping for every at bat I can get,” Kiner-Falefa said. “Understanding I’m getting older and my playing time has been cut, I’m not even playing at all, so I’m in there fighting for my life, fighting for my career and this is a situation I’ve been in most of my career when I wasn’t playing every day and it’s kind of the same answer it’s been. So it’s nice for them to give me an opportunity and I’m helping the team but I wish I could do more.”
How the Yankees chapter shaped the moment
The contrast with his Yankees chapter is sharp. He spent 2022 and 2023 with the Yankees in the Bronx. Yankees fans grew frustrated with his bat and his glove. He was booed on Opening Day. The Yankees benched him during the 2024 ALDS after costly miscues. Some fans even heckled him as he left the ballpark.
For a player who later poked at the Yankees from afar, the current reality stings. During his Yankees years he at least drew steady reps. In Boston those chances dried up.
Kiner-Falefa has barely played for his new club. He had just 54 at-bats through the team’s first 53 games. That changed when Trevor Story landed on the injured list. The opening gave him a longer look.
He nearly won Sunday’s game against the Minnesota Twins. His deep drive just missed a walkoff three-run homer. On Tuesday he stayed hot in a 7-6 loss to the Atlanta Braves. He went 2 for 3 with a walk. He added a solo home run and a two-run single in the ninth.
Boston has now dropped four in a row. Still, the Red Sox have nearly rallied in the ninth in each of their last three games. Kiner-Falefa has sat at the center of those comeback bids.
Why Kiner-Falefa signed with Boston
This is his ninth MLB season. The 31-year-old signed a one-year, $6 million deal with Boston last offseason. He has always been known as a flexible defender. He has played every position in the majors, including pitcher and catcher. The Yankees once leaned on that same versatility. At the plate, though, he rarely scared anyone.
Changing that was the whole point of the move. Kiner-Falefa said he chose Boston to grow as a hitter. He pointed to a three-time All-Star as his model.
“The new hitting coaches have been doing a great job at trying to elevate the ball to left field so to get some results is showing that all the work that I’ve been putting in is working,” Kiner-Falefa said. “They understand where I’m at in my career and I’m giving them the full lee way to help me develop.”
He named the player he hopes to copy.
“That’s the reason I signed here, to develop as a hitter. I wanted to be like Marcus Semien when he turned 31 he started hitting pull-side homers,” he continued. “So I’ve got a long way to go but it’s just a start and I feel like I’m still at the right place, I just, you know, we just need to win more ballgames.”
The early returns are modest. Kiner-Falefa is batting .278 this season. He has one home run, nine RBIs and a .720 OPS in 28 games. Still, they top what Boston has gotten from some other infielders. That is a low bar.
Where the Red Sox stand now
The standings tell the bigger story. Boston sits at 22-31. The club is just one win clear of the worst record in the American League. The Red Sox parted with longtime manager Alex Cora about a month ago. The change has not lifted them out of the cellar. They remain last in the American League East.
There is one odd silver lining. Boston is only 3.5 games out of a playoff spot. Kiner-Falefa leaned on that thin hope after the loss.
“We’re lucky to be in the American League, we just got to keep going,” Kiner-Falefa said. “We’ve got to keep going and hopefully we string some together and other teams lose, we’re honestly just lucky to be in the American League.”
For Yankees fans tracking their old foe, the picture is thick with irony. The man who once teased the Yankees now clings to every chance. His shade at the Yankees has faded. His fight has not. The Yankees, meanwhile, just hammered Kansas City 15-1 in a historic offensive night. Their former infielder is battling just to stay on the field. Few storylines capture the gap between the Yankees and their fading rivals quite like this one.
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