The Boston Red Sox have signed utility player Isiah Kiner-Falefa to a one-year contract.

MLB.com reporter Mark Feinsand reported on February 5 local time that infielder Isiah Kiner-Falefa has reached a one-year contract with the Boston Red Sox. This deal is still awaiting official confirmation from the team and the conclusion of his medical tests.

Approaching his 31st season, Kiner-Falefa remains one of the most versatile players in the league. Although he is expected to primarily play shortstop and third base in 2025, he has defensive experience at every infield position: in 2024, he started 42 games at second base for the Pittsburgh Pirates and Toronto Blue Jays; in 2023, he made 61 starts in the outfield for the New York Yankees; he even appeared 73 times as a catcher, last doing so in 2019 while with the Texas Rangers.

Last season, Kiner-Falefa excelled defensively at third base, posting a +2 Outs Above Average (OAA) rating, which is his strongest defensive position and where he won a Gold Glove in 2020 while playing for the Rangers.

Kiner-Falefa spent his second consecutive season moving between the Pittsburgh Pirates and Toronto Blue Jays, the latter acquiring him through waivers in late August last year. In the 2025 season, he appeared in 138 games with a batting average of .262, an OPS of .631, and stole 15 bases—his highest single-season total since 2022. His best major league season was in 2024 when he recorded a career-high 2.0 Wins Above Replacement (fWAR).

Kiner-Falefa is not known for power hitting but consistently plays to his strengths as a contact hitter with excellent bat-to-ball skills. Last season, his swing-and-miss rate (15.1%) ranked in the 91st percentile across the majors, and his career strikeout rate (15.7%) is significantly better than the league average of 22.2%.

In the postseason, Kiner-Falefa played 15 games for the Blue Jays, recording 6 hits in 37 at-bats. He was a key component of the team's contact-oriented offense and caused considerable trouble for opposing pitchers. Perhaps his most memorable moment in October was being tagged out at home plate as a potential winning run in the bottom of the ninth inning of Game 7 of the World Series.

The Rangers selected Kiner-Falefa in the fourth round of the 2013 draft directly from a high school in Honolulu. Over his eight-year professional career, he has played for four teams and maintains a respectable career batting average of .262. As a right-handed hitter, his OPS against right-handed pitchers is .666 and against left-handed pitchers is .643; however, his 2025 stats show a notable drop, hitting just .227 against lefties.