Did the Giants make the right call in not retaining outfielder Pillar?
So Farhan Zaidi was right about Kevin Pillar. Or no?
The Giants’ boss chose not to tender the popular center fielder a contract and risk paying him something in the $9 million range when Pillar was arbitrationeligible for the final time.
Zaidi, calling it a baseball decision, simply didn’t want to bring back Pillar if it meant preventing younger players from getting time at the position.
On Friday, the Red Sox — a few days after trading outfielder Mookie Betts to the Dodgers in a stunning salary dump — signed Pillar for one year and $4.25 million, not at all what he had been anticipating after his 2019 accomplishments.
Pillar, now 31, hit .259 with 21 homers and 89 RBIs and was the first Giants hitter since 2015 to homer 20 times. He won the Willie Mac Award as the team’s most inspirational player and made several outstanding defensive plays, one of the few players with whom fans enthusiastically connected during a third straight losing season.
But Pillar isn’t an onbase guy, and Zaidi — as is the case throughout the game today — likes onbase guys. Pillar’s onbase percentage of .287 was lower than his career mark of .296. He walked 18 times.
In the world of analytics, that’s not acceptable. Not long ago, he might’ve made a bundle in free agency, back when teams highly valued this gritty type of player. Nowadays, most of the decisionmaking executives think alike, valuing high OBPs and advanced numbers that aren’t kind to Pillar.
Pillar’s onbase plus slugging percentage was a careerhigh .719 — a far cry from Mike
Yastrzemski’s .852 — and his OPS+ (which adjusts for ballparks) was 89, not great, considering 100 is league average.
By no means is Pillar a patient hitter. He’s a free swinger known to extend far beyond the strike zone. On the other hand, his strikeout percentage (13.7) with the Giants was lowest among the team’s regulars. The league average was 23; Yastrzemski’s was 26.
Technically, Zaidi could have resigned Pillar as a free agent for far cheaper than $9 million, but the Giants aren’t all in on winning in 2020 as much as focusing on the seasons beyond.
“It was my first time going through free agency,” Pillar said Saturday in his first media access at Boston’s camp in Fort Myers, Fla. “So I didn’t really know what to expect. The type of season I had last year on the surface, I was very confident about it to the point where getting nontendered came a little bit as a shock to me.
“Obviously, San Francisco is going in a different direction. They have an abundance of young outfielders that they wanted to give opportunities to.”
Would the Giants have been better with Pillar? Perhaps. But that’s not the issue. Pillar’s absence affords younger players more opportunities.
One is Mauricio Dubon, the middle infielder who’ll get a tryout in center despite playing just four professional games in the outfield, all in the Arizona Fall League in 2016. Another is Yastrzemski, who’s coming off a fabulous rookie year while succeeding at the corners. Steven Duggar remains in the mix. Billy Hamilton, too.
There’s also the possible center fielder of the future, Heliot Ramos, 20, who wasn’t invited to bigleague camp but could debut late in the season depending on his progress at TripleA Sacramento.
The Giants aren’t positioned to win the National League West with or without Pillar. Because he’s so durable, averaging 152 games over the past five seasons, center field would have been another position occupied by someone in his 30s, just like first base, shortstop, third base, catcher and two rotation spots.
So there’s good and bad to life without Pillar. Zaidi gets to see the younger outfielders, but fans will miss Pillar’s theatrics, which don’t necessarily mean more winning. Pillar’s WAR, or wins above replacement, has slipped annually from 4.9 in 2015 to 1.0 last year, according to Baseball Reference. Zaidi didn’t see the upside.
“Some will say I’ve taken a step back defensively,” Pillar said. “I don’t believe that’s the case. I think it’s a matter of making some minor adjustments out there, whether it’s positioning or getting a little bit more information, which is something that I’m excited about joining this organization.”
Pillar said the Giants were more progressive analytically than the Blue Jays, who traded him to San Francisco in the first week of the season, but said he didn’t think he had enough time to absorb all the data and apply it.
“I was looking forward to going into that organization for a second year, getting exposed to that environment, exposed to that information,” Pillar said. “But I didn’t get an opportunity. I’m excited to be here on time with an organization that is going to give me that information.”
Pillar seemed a nice fit at Oracle Park. Though splits for other players show they’re better road hitters, Pillar’s numbers were superior across the board at home, including home runs.
Nevertheless, it’ll help playing at more hitterfriendly Fenway Park, where he’s a career .307 hitter but surprisingly hasn’t shown much pop — one homer and 10 doubles in 179 atbats.
The Red Sox wanted an experienced-outfielder after Betts and pitcher David Price were shipped to the Dodgers, and Pillar was still on the market because none of the offers wowed him. Andrew Benintendi and Jackie Bradley Jr. are Boston’s other outfielders, along with Alex Verdugo, acquired in the Betts deal.
Bradley is the center fielder, so Pillar seems destined for a corner. Verdugo has a back issue and is questionable for Opening Day, and Pillar could open in right. Eventually, he could work himself into a platoon because he hits lefties (.823 OPS last year) much better than righties.
Meantime, the Giants have other ideas for their outfield.