The Rockies will acquire outfielder Kevin Pillar and cash from the Red Sox for a player to be named later and 2019-20 international slot money, Mark Feinsand of MLB.com reports.
This season has been a major letdown for the Red Sox, but Pillar proved to be a good investment during his month-plus in their uniform. After signing a one-year, $4.25MM contract in the offseason, the former Blue Jay and Giant slashed a respectable .274/.325/.470 with four home runs over 126 plate appearances. Pillar also lined up at all three outfield positions as a member of the Red Sox, though he primarily played right field.
In Colorado, which will enter Monday 17-17 and as a surprising playoff contender, Pillar will hand the club another proven outfielder to join a group highlighted by Charlie Blackmon, Raimel Tapia and David Dahl.
Blackmon has been great this year, Tapia has provided solid production in his own right, and Sam Hilliard has given the club passable numbers. However, the oft-injured Dahl – who has been on the IL for about two weeks – has stumbled, as have the rest of the Rockies’ outfield options. Beyond this year, though, it remains to be seen whether Pillar will stay in Colorado, as he’s slated to reach free agency again over the winter.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
see ya
I just keep hitting refresh and more stuff pops up!!!!! I’m like a tween girl reading gossip girl
Haha totally!
Why Pillar and not JBJ.
Better bat.
Cheaper salary
What are you smoking saying JBJ has a better bat he can’t hit a beach ball with a tree they should of never gave him a QOthat a 11+ deal that could’ve got the Sox at least 2 arms and maybe not the loss of Betts (probably not) but you never know
Bradley went to the Reds. Oh, Archie, not Jackie. Sorry….
It was not a QO for JBJ, it was just the last year of his arbitration. I highly doubt Boston offers JBJ a QO this year as he’d be dumb not to take it, but they could offer him 3/$15 to see if he’ll stay around as a part time OF against RHP. The problem is, the rest of their OF bats LH too, so they would need to move Benny in order for that to make any sense. I’m guessing it’s going to be a rough trip through free agency for JBJ. He may have already maxed out his annual earnings at the $11M he made this year. The arbitration process needs a major overhaul.
Moving Bennie a problem? I’ve been saying he should be traded for over a year but now his value is less. JBJ would be good as a part-time player as he ages. I’m just not sure he believes he can’t get a full-time job. I would even keep him full-time if Bennie is dealt in the off season and a righty stick is secured. I still think there’s a chance that the union and league come up with something to allow this year’s free agent class to remain with their current teams for one more year. Maybe 75% of the current deal but only half counts against the cap. Otherwise those non-superstars will simply not have offers anywhere near pre-Covid expectations and many including possibly JBJ will only get a Pillar type offer if that (many will only get spring invites).
Rockies needed a RH OF bench bat. JBJ is a lefty.
Wish it was JBJ….but I think he stays
Less $ and Pillar for better or worse is more consistent at the plate
Pillar is a stellar defender and cheaper and a better hitter
Pillar is basically Kiermaier Lite on defense. Heck of a glove!
Lol but so true
Big differences. Pillar is a step slower so KK and JBJ make certain catches appear easier. KK though has been made of glass throughout his career as he’s gotten hurt many times. Pillar just bounces back up.
Lol
Pillar is being passed around the league like a crack pipe
Interesting analogy
Yikes! – That’s all we got! Pillar was good – real good! Good luck!
so angels hold Simmons why?????? honestly over rated and hurt too often and bat is poor. fletcher is the same player minus the arm and a much better bat . time to move on for real
it seems trained people are valuing him whole lot more than you are!
Kevin Millar was better
GM trying to keep his job. Pillar could be a nice addition. Makes sense they went for Pillar over JBJ because Pillar is a RH bat. They have enough lefty OF bats.
I’ll miss Pillar and hope he returns next yr.
Quiet deadline my a-s. lol
Quiet as in mega stars or mega salaries moving. Other than that it’s been great. Rentals always move but other guys moving as well. Entertaining.
Nice pick up for any team.
Hope this means the Red Sox call up Jarren Duran – could be JBJ replacement
If this is all the Sox get for pillar that means Jackie Bradley jr. Is not going anywhere.
I love the Rox, but I’m not a Briddich fan. However, I think Givens and Pillar are two very nice pick ups. Kudos to Briddich.
Would love to see Pillar back in the postseason. Wish nothing but the best for him. Rockies are getting one of the hottest bats all season for the Sox.
Unnecessary. Pillar has been in the league eight years, his lifetime OBP is under .300. Nice glove, but under.300 ?
have you heard of late inning defensive replacement? and he is still a threat on base paths.
Hmmm, let’s see. Have I heard of late inning defensive replacement ? Not sure, is that anything like being a snarky d-bag with an inability to determine when to use capitalization ? Then, the answer would be yes.
Vizionaire is a misnomer….
of course i used capital letters on my masters thesis. but on a baseball site talking to people? what for? language is for understanding.
Has a .470 slugging, 109 OPS+/wRC+. Still plays above average defense in the outfield. Dahl is on the IL, so why not.
Mikey, look again at Pillar’s numbers against lefties. That is who he will facing with a current all-lefty OF Colorado has. Pillar hits LHP pretty well.
It probably is a good pick up, Bill.
Didn’t Pillar say he wanted to stay in boston/last place?
Yeah he talked it over with Chaim Bloom but I’m sure that it’s for the better of the team.
I was hoping for JBJ, but Pillar’s defense could help too even if he has lost a step or two.
Birds lives matter
Trades at this year’s deadline could only include players in the 60 man roster/pool, so what this trade means is that the player is probably a lower level minor leaguer. Ten of the Red Sox top 20 prospects are not on the 60 roster/pool as a comparison, we do not know how well regarded the player is…..
That being said, Pillar is a free agent at season ‘s end, a pure rental, so the return was not going to be great, but each player added to the system helps strengthen it and makes it more competitive.
Not necessarily lower level, but you are probably correct. The Rox top 20 prospects (MLB.com) that are eligible to be traded as PTBNL are
10 Grant Lavingne 1B High A
14 Brenton Doyle OF Short Season A
16 Niko Decolati OF High A
Almost all of the prospects from 21-30 are eligible as well aside from Ashton Goudeau.
My prediction is that it will be former #4 overall pick Riley Pint. He has major control issues, but still throws really hard. Could still be something with a change of scenery, but he will never be good in Denver.
Maybe if Boston has their choice otherwise as little of a prospect as Pint looks to be anymore I think Colorado will pay “less” than Pint.
Pint is a significant overpay for a player of Pillar’s caliber. I’m thinking they get a half pint at best ;-). This deal is more about the international spending money, something TB and Chaim have done quite well with in the past. The Sox next true window of contention is probably 2023 but they could get lucky and move that up a year. All depends on how well Sale rebounds and if Groome can take the next step. It seems like Song could end up being a career Navy pilot which would be an absolute heart breaker for the Red Sox. He was a top 10 talent in that draft class for sure.
Pillar’s the kind of guy that belongs on a competitive roster, not a team mired in last place. He played hard in Boston, and I’m glad he gets to Colorado, which can nothing but help his offense. And the defense/game skills are top-notch. Nice move for both teams, even if the return is on the low-level side.
Bob – yes, Agree, probably good for both teams
…how well regarded the player-to-be-named later is?
I do not think Bloom trades Pillar unless the player to be received has a least a decent chance of preforming at some level in the mlb.
Helpful but not a big needle mover. And at what cost? Wonder who the PBN will be? Likely dependent on how well Pillar plays. Pillar is a likely rental.
Chances are the player to be named later has already been agreed upon it’s just because of the Pandemic shortened season you can only announce players that are at the alternate site so unless it’s one of them it will be announced as PBN.
Happy CBT reset day Boston! I didn’t think we’d ever make it here but low and behold we did. Perhaps this rebuild won’t take nearly as long as we thought now that the Sox can finally spend some money again. Looking for a little 2013 magic in 2021. Fingers crossed!
Pillar is gone because of his comments last week. No other reason
Didn’t catch the comments, what was the just of them?
Well the gist of the comments on his ig since removed, was the only reason they postponed the games during the week was because they were catering to jbj because he was the only black guy on the team. Only he was a little more blunt. He tried to walk it back on his account. Comment is still posted I think. Bottom line, 1st year nobody makes nasty comment about a long time red Sox and he’s gone 3 days later. In case no one noticed, the Sox got nothing in return and filled his spot with another African American with a minor league era far north of 5.00