Isiah Kiner-Falefa officially became a Boston Red Sox on February 10 when the club added him to the 40-man roster. He also did something else that seemingly every Red Sox addition did this offseason shortly after signing with the team: Kiner-Falefa made fun of the New York Yankees.
In Sonny Gray's first interview as a Red Sox, he told reporters that he never wanted to play in New York. Ranger Suárez wondered why all his childhood friends growing up in Venezuela always rooted for the Yankees in Rivalry matchups. Willson Contreras said playing the Yankees always felt special, but that he'll take those games much more seriously as a Red Sox player. Kiner-Falefa used his recent tenure as a Toronto Blue Jay to pile on.
Kiner-Falefa told reporters in Fort Myers that the Blue Jays were happy that the Yankees beat the Red Sox in the Wild Card round last postseason because they saw Boston as a tougher opponent. Most Boston fans weren't too excited to hear IKF would be on the roster in 2026, but roasting the Yankees could be one of the easiest ways to change their minds.
“I don’t know if people were expecting Boston to get in (to the postseason) last year, but I know in Toronto we were happy that they lost (to the Yankees), because we weren’t ready for Crochet and all those guys,” Kiner-Falefa said (via Gabrielle Starr of The Boston Herald).
Isiah Kiner-Falefa makes fun of Yankees the day his Red Sox contract was made official
Garrett Crochet was undeniably Boston's best player in its short postseason run after he went 7.2 innings, allowed just one run and struck out 11 Yankees. Who "all those guys" are is up for debate — Roman Anthony missed the postseason with an oblique injury and Boston felt his absence something fierce, but Masataka Yoshida stepped up and delivered on offense to the tune of a 1.143 OPS over the three-game series.
The Blue Jays had an 8-5 record against both the Sox and Yankees last season, but Boston finished the year with a 9-4 record against New York. The Red Sox beat their greatest rival thoroughly in the regular season, showing they could come through when it counted. The Yankees, famously, did not come through in their run to the World Series in 2024.
Toronto succumbed to a similar fate in 2025 — no American League East team has been able to beat the Dodgers, so the early postseason matchups haven't mattered. Kiner-Falefa was nearly a World Series hero when he took off from third base in the ninth inning of Game 7 to attempt the game-winning run, but Miguel Rojas and Will Smith cut him down just in time.
Like Gray, Kiner-Falefa was formerly and Yankee, and not a very successful one. He suited up for the Yankees from 2022-23 and batted .253/.311/.333 with a .643 OPS over 255 games, which aren't bad numbers. But New Yorkers expect a lot from their players, and IKF's rough defense in 2022 coupled with his lack of offensive impact didn't sit well with them.
Kiner-Falefa may have been excited to roast the Yankees when he signed with Boston, as is seemingly tradition at this point, or maybe he's been waiting years to make such comments. Either way, Kiner-Falefa has found the quickest path to endearing himself to Red Sox fans, even if they weren't initially thrilled about his signing.