Dodgers notes: Kevin Kiermaier to Toronto, World Baseball Classic

Kevin Kiermaier, the longtime Rays center fielder known for his excellent defense, in whom the Dodgers were interested, agreed to a free agent deal with the Blue Jays, per multiple reports.

Shi Davidi of Sportsnet was first to report Kiermaier’s pact with Toronto.

Juan Toribio at MLB.com reported that Kiermaier’s decision came down to the Jays or Dodgers, and that the soon-to-be 33-year-old Kiermaier was the Dodgers’ top target for center field this offseason.

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Team USA’s roster for the 2023 World Baseball Classic is shaping up to be its most star-studded in the nearly two-decade history of the event. Sarah Valenzuela at the Los Angeles Times wrote about the roster, led by Mike Trout, Mookie Betts, Paul Goldschmidt, Trea Turner, Will Smith, and more.

The proposed gondola project from Union Station to Dodger Stadium doesn’t make much sense, as our Michael Elizondo has written about at length. That former Dodgers owner Frank McCourt, who literally took the team into bankruptcy during his tenure, is involved adds even more stink, and his involvement was noted in a letter to the editor in Saturday’s Los Angeles Times.

“Fine, but let [McCourt] first put solar shade structures on the 100-plus acres of the stadium’s sun-baked asphalt parking lot that he still owns,” Sarah Starr of Los Angeles writes. “Similarly, solar at SoFi Stadium and other energy-intensive venues with plenty of downtime can provide electricity to surrounding communities.”