Whether the Giants tender outfielder Kevin Pillar a contract during the offseason “will serve as a clear referendum on how married to the metrics Farhan Zaidi’s baseball operations group will be,” Andrew Baggarly of The Athletic writes (subscription required). The Giants’ Zaidi-led front office acquired Pillar from Toronto in April, though the club could move on from him within the next couple months if it decides he’ll be too pricey to keep. Pillar’s making an affordable $5.8MM this year, but he’ll earn an appreciable raise over that sum during his last trip to arbitration because of his counting stats (631 plate appearances, 21 home runs, 86 runs batted in, 81 runs, 13 stolen bases). Those are aesthetically pleasing numbers, which can’t be said of the .257/.284/.430 batting line or the 83 wRC+ Pillar has posted. And while the soon-to-be 31-year-old Pillar has rightly been regarded as a marvelous defender throughout his career, advanced metrics haven’t been that bullish on him the past couple seasons (zero DRS, plus-1.2 UZR between center and right this year).
Pillar realizes the new-school turn that baseball’s front offices have taken could spell doom for his tenure as a Giant. He told Baggarly he wants to stay in San Francisco, but he acknowledged that “my future’s kind of up in the air.” Baggarly’s piece is worth a full read for more quotes from Pillar, a couple of his teammates and manager Bruce Bochy in regards to the high impact they believe he has made as a Giant.
Checking in on a pair of other MLB clubs…
- Mets first baseman/corner outfielder Dominic Smith will attempt to add center field to his list of positions next year, Tim Healey of Newsday relays. Smith, who has already slimmed down since he debuted in the majors in 2017, will spend the offseason getting in even better shape in order to become a viable option at the outfield’s most challenging spot. Whether Smith will play another game for the Mets after this season is in question, though, with Healey noting the 24-year-old could be a trade chip over the winter. NL Rookie of the Year shoo-in Pete Alonso occupies Smith’s primary position, first base, while the Mets count Michael Conforto, Brandon Nimmo, Jeff McNeil and J.D. Davis (not to mention the injured Yoenis Cespedes) among their other corner outfield-capable players.
- White Sox right-hander Dylan Cease’s season came to an early end when the club made him a late scratch from his scheduled start Thursday. Cease is dealing with a hamstring issue, one that will require an MRI on Friday, Scott Merkin of MLB.com tweets. The touted 23-year-old wrapped up his debut campaign with a 5.79 ERA/5.19 FIP, 9.99 K/9 and 4.32 BB/9 in 73 innings.
- Righty Michael Kopech, another of the White Sox’s coveted young arms, didn’t pitch at all this year after undergoing Tommy John surgery last September. Now, though, the flamethrowing Kopech is anticipating what he hopes will be a normal spring training. “I am as ready I can be right now,” Kopech said (via Bruce Levine of 670 The Score). “I have done everything I can to prepare. It has been a long time coming. I am ready to go for next spring.” Kopech should have a shot to join the returning trio of Cease, breakout star Lucas Giolito and Reynaldo Lopez in the White Sox’s season-opening rotation in 2020.
I would expect the Sox starting rotation to be better next year. Maybe the Sox can be over .500 in 2020.
@rayrayner
I agree. I don’t think the Sox will have enough to get into the playoffs, but I do think they will finish over .500 next year. 2021 is where I see them really wreaking havoc, but at least they will finally be competitive next year.
The stros caught everyone offgaurd a few years back….so anything’s possible
Except the White Sox competing in any of our lifetimes.
So your younger than 14?
White Sox have the same number of titles as the Yankees the last 15 years. Then again if you’re 12 years old it would surprise nobody.
Correction…going forward.
I don’t give a sh|t about the number of titles the Yankees have “the last 15 years”, or the last 50 years genius.
Whoops, looks like Maddon was a bad influence on you last night.
Poor haters like Bocephus have to get their shots in while he still can. The Sox are close, and his desperation is palpable.
MLBTR should do a poll, as to how much money Reinsdorf will spend this off season on FA.
will it top Abreu’s $68/M.
10 million re-signing nova and other terrible should be sendoffs
@Dogbone
@Bocephus
I didn’t think either of you would have the stones to come on here after the Cubs collapse this past week, but I guess we can’t take the troll out of either of you.
No offense to any legitimate Cub fans on here. I have to single out these two bozos for continuously coming on these Sox message boards and trolling. Dogbone and Bocephus give Cub fans a bad name.
Funny thing is I’m guessing they’re just casual fans who know very little about their own team. They know only one thing well, that is how to troll. I base all this on the fact that the Cubs week-long meltdown didn’t deter them at all from trolling.
I feel bad for the legitimate Cub fans on here who have the misfortune of having these two bozos represent your fan base. Actually I should say these two bozos disgracing your fan base.
I have many friends who are intelligent Cub fans, and I have to laugh when I think of the chasm between their intelligence and your lack thereof, Dogbone and Bocephus.
Not a Cubs fan Mr Jingles.
Easy! They offered almost a QUARTER OF A BILLION DOLLARS last off-season. Jerry has shown that he will open his wallet W I D E to help this team. All we need is players who want to come here. That should be easier this off season based on how the core preformed this season.
@Bocephus
Sure, I believe you. So, what team are you a fan of? Let me guess…Rangers? Rockies? Blue Jays? Reds? Wait, I know, the Yakult Swallows.
Or better yet, you’re going to claim you’re not a fan of any team. You’re one of those “neutral observers”, telling it like it is without any team clouding your judgment.
What did you do, jump off the Cubs bandwagon when they got officially eliminated?
Good luck to your Cubbies next year, Bocephus.
nope. they’re the cheapest team in the game and that’s how the snake at the top likes it. Theyll tear it down again in a year or two to save money
@cysoxsale
You’re as bad as Dogbone and Bocephus. If you hate the team and the owner that much, why do you still root for them? If I hated them as much as you do, I’d pick a different team to root for. Reinsdorf will never sell the team while he’s alive, so you’re stuck with him as the owner whether you like it or not.
I can’t imagine going through life being that miserable. Life’s too short.
@rayrayner
As a Yanks fan let me be the last to hope and wish my teams rotation can be better than it is but saying that, the Sox had 10 SP pitch at least 3 games last season. Only 1 had an ERA under 4.80 and that was Giolito. Cease and Lopez proved that highly touted SP prospects tend to struggle early in their careers.
I have no reason to hate on Chicago tho so I hope things get better but .500? I guess it’s only a 12 game improvement but a lot would have to go right for them in 2020. Good luch tho. Baseball is a bit better when the Chicago teams are competitive.
Most Yankees fans, and northeast fans in general, don’t understand the game well enough to project performance. Teams like the Nats, Astros, Braves, and Twins are considered “bad” teams until they’re not. A year late to see potential on the White Sox until they’re 20 games over .500 and smoking you in your own stadium.
@ChiSoxCity
Show me where I said the Sox didn’t have any potential? I’ll wait…. Oh never mind because I know I didn’t say that. What I said was in response to another poster suggesting that this team had a good shot at being a .500 team in 2020. I simply used a thing called facts to underline that jumping to .500 seems like a daunting task considering that they only had 1 pitcher post an ERA under 4.80. I wish you well but asking several prospects, some who haven’t pitched above AAA and are coming off a major injury sounds, seems unjustifiably optimistic.
Keep in mind the Sox had little to play for this year considering the injuries to their pitching staff. Just another year in the rebuild.
The Sox have roughly $24MM committed to roster salaries in 2020. Adding to a solid core of young talent via free agency or trade, and the healthy return of Kopech and Rodon to the starting rotation should help them exceed .500. Winning 80+ games next year shouldn’t surprise anyone, with KC and Detroit tanking, and a diminished Cleveland roster. They need to have a productive offseason though, so we’ll see.
With the right moves the White Sox should contend next season
not sure i understand Pillar’s ” my future is up in the air” comment. Just ask for fair value and I’m sure you can get it. your future is only up if you are expecting to be rewarded for meaningless statistics
A look at Pillar’s numbers show a quite consistent player who cam be an 8 hole hitter on a good team.
I picked up Kopech about 4 weeks ago in my Roto keeper league in anticipation of his 2020 return. I see great things coming for that kid.
How many kopechs or cimolis did it cost you?
Smart move Danny. Crazy that he’s still available in a keeper league.
After watching Pillar in Toronto for several years, I have two points – he might have the worst eye in baseball and he plays a shallow CF. That said, I’d take him on as a fourth outfielder at the right price.
Dom Smith in Center is laughable and sooo Mets. He’s got zero chance of being decent in Center. He was bad in the corner outfield spots. You’d think he’d have some trade value so he can actually play 1st or DH somewhere. But to think Centerfield is an option is ridiculous.
Pillar and Yaz have been the only two position players that made this team even kind of watchable this year. Unless they are planning on making some huge free agent acquisitions and dumping Belt and Crawford and all the starters with 5+ eras, they might as well bring Pillar back. He is fun to watch and plays with heart, which can’t be said for most of the current roster.
Longo has been above average too. Honestly I think the Giants’ fanbase is still biased against him because of his year last year and because he isn’t giving the team enough value to justify the $20M/year, but he’s still one of the better players on the Giants this year. And even looking forward, his contract looks better than posey’s, belt’s, and crawford’s. So while there weren’t many position players on the Giants worth watching, I’d add longo to the list. As well as Dickerson, Slater, Solano, Pablo and Dubon.
I agree with both snotrocket & wiggysf. Pillar and Yaz are the two players that were the most watchable. Having a veteran outfielder helps the younger players in the outfield. I hope we keep Pillar, he gives it his all every single game. Yaz coming to SF after all those years in the minors. Agree Longo has been above average this year
It’s really too bad Pillar has no bat what so ever. He’s a likeable guy who always gives 100%. I fear all he’s ever going to be from now on is a placeholder on rebuilding and bad teams however.
Dom Smith is a very large boy. I don’t see him transitioning to centerfield very well.
Good for Dominic Smith for learning center. If I were him, I would also take a few lessons at second or third. The more flexible, the more playing time.
Anyone that thinks of Pillar as a sub-par or mediocre player has not actually watched the game very much, specifically has not watched Pillar that much. Just proves my point that stat-geeks that just look at the numbers are often mis-informed. Pillar is a great defensive CF (do the eye test once in a while guys), hits in the clutch and is a fantastic team player. Advice for the stat-geeks: break away from your pc and numbers for a change and actually watch a game – or better yet, go to the ballpark!
THIS! I was going to write something similar and long-winded, but instead I’ll just give you a thumbs up and a reply. Apparently hits, scoring runs, and great defense aren’t important in baseball anymore, you just have to satisfy some arbitrary made up stats to be considered valuable
Amen
Thank you Statman. Blue Jays fans on here are crapping on Pillar having no bat yet they forgot to look at the current crop of OFs not named Gurriel. If Pillar were still a Blue Jay he’d still be the best defensive OF on the team and easily the most suitable CF. And I would take Pillar at nearly half the price over Grichuk.
@statman
Funny that your name is “statman” considering your dislike of today’s statistics.
and @maverick12
Pillar is a “good” ballplayer.. But like Didi G it doesn’t mean that they don’t have an obvious flaw that they NEED to address. A career sub .300 OBP isn’t good no matter how much we love either.
Anyone who says that Reinsdorf is a bad owner is a moron! Reinsdorf has seven championships as an owner! Six with the Bulls and one with the White Sox.
These past 11 years have been rough for us White Sox fans with bad signings to bad trades to bad draft picks. However, Hahn is doing what he planned on doing when took over as the General Manager.
LOL! Did you really just give Reinsdorf credit for the Bulls’ championships? Hahahaha! Too funny!
How many championships do you have as an owner of a professional sports team or teams? Funny thing, Reinsdorf is the guy who signs the check and not you, me or anyone else that comes on here to those with intelligence about sports and the business behind them to people who just vent out of frustration!
We no longer have to seek out a guru from Tibet to understand that high salaries are not sustainable in this market. Especially after acquiring so much young talent. It makes little sense as a responsible owner or GM to flip a ton of cash to players who want guaranteed years (not just contention windows).
So Chicago is like a tale of two cities. The Cubs tanked, then bought the World Series and now are fumbling $243M (see Tibetan guru). White Sox traded high quality players for multiple potential future stars (still a gamble, but a cheaper one).
Where is the wisdom? Where is the ownership responsibility?
It’s all on the South side!
The White Sox playing it smart with not dishing out big contracts with so many years. I wanted Bryce Harper in a White Sox since his bat would have benefited all of these young guys like Moncada to Anderson to Jiminez and Robert, but those years he received from the Phillies is insane!
Rallyshirt You really do know what you’re talking about.
Baseball is a business. Money has to be spent responsibly. Throwing big money for one name player is a very risky gamble. (We dodged a big one with Manny choosing SD!) When a team is rebuilding (2018 & 2019), it makes no business sense to spend on lots of older marquee players, when you need those at bats for the developing young players.
2019 is the right time to start spending, but only to fill the known holes in our team.
It’s nice to find some reasonable people around here. Pretty amazing we just moved Moncada to 3B and we received Manny and then some!
I have a feeling this is going to be an awkward offseason. There are a few guys I really like and think they will perform better with the White Sox if we can work it out, but the looming expectation after offering as much as we did for Machado and Bryce is stirring more confusion than common sense, imo.
On the real, if Pillar is cut loose, he’d be a great buy-low guy
I’d love for White Sox to trade for Kyle Tucker, Conforto or Mazara. If G. Cole leaves via free agency we could maybe trade a young starter and other prospects for him. Have young stars- Anderson, Moncada, Jimenez, Robert, Vaughn, etc. to go with Tucker. Be a nice young group to roll with.
The White Sox need a staring pitcher or two! There is no reason to make a move for any outfielder when Robert is coming up in 2020 while eyes are on Steele Walker and Blake Rutherford in two years.
I mean, they still need a RF until Walker/Rutherford/etc. are ready…
Corey Dickerson on a 2-3 year deal is an easy choice for me, although I wouldn’t be upset with trading for a young player like the ones mentioned (Mazara being the cheapest/most likely).
Cubs fan not a Sox hater. A few years ago we were in your shoes and it was fun as hell. It will be exciting to see the south side grow into contenders. Wishing good health.
signing Pillar to another contract is evidence of the Giants commitment to mediocrity.
at .257/.284/.430, he is who he is and at 31 years old, not going to get any better
in fact, those numbers don’t even reach mediocrity.