The White Sox have released infielder Mike Moustakas and outfielder Kevin Pillar, the team announced. Both players had been in camp on minor league contracts.
Moustakas and Pillar were among 31 players who had automatic opt-out rights today, under the terms of the collective bargaining agreement. That typically applies to players with more than six years of major league service who finished last season on an MLB roster but settled for a minor league pact over the winter. It’s not clear whether Pillar and Moustakas officially triggered their opt-outs or if Chicago preemptively released them with the expectation they’d do so.
The end result is that both players will head back to the open market. Moustakas had a tough spring, struggling to a .195/.283/.317 batting line in 46 plate appearances. The three-time All-Star split last season between the Rockies and Angels. While he’d started the year reasonably well in Colorado, his bat wilted down the stretch. He concluded the year with a .247/.293/.392 slash through 386 plate appearances.
Pillar also had a middling performance this spring, although he seemed to have a better path to the roster. The veteran outfielder turned in a .250/.306/.386 mark in 49 trips to the dish. Pillar had been trying to snag a job as a righty-hitting complement to the lefty-swinging corner outfield tandem of Andrew Benintendi and Dominic Fletcher.
Didn’t see Pillar coming at all.
Moose on the loose
@mike
Ouch! That must’ve hurt.
It’s a very high bar when you’re talking White Sox.
Its going to be a long season when Moncada gets a hang nail and is out for half the season. I mean Jimenez is already in mid season form as he is hurt.
Eduardo Escobar is available. Moustakas could have played third, so I assume somebody is coming on board to back up third, or it will be Ramos.
At this point, I’m assuming the utility infielder backing up 3B will be Danny Mendick.
Jimenez is not hurt. He played today and was fine.
Jimenez has already had a bone bruise and is ‘day to ‘day’. Last I checked, that is considered ‘hurt’, no?
How about now?
Nrd must be fun at parties
Moose back to the Angels
Better than Sanó
Exactly no Moose in Anaheim
Sad to see star players of the 2010s in the twilight of the careers and on their way out of the league; such is life.
That’s why I like baseball though, the minors allow these guys to keep their dream alive. They can get in the right situation and get hot and end up helping out a team down the stretch. Like Matt Carpenter. Just have to take what you can get and not expect too much.
Yeah, tlMoose leaving the game after making $99M and leaving after a dozen years kinda gets to ya
I could see the Yanks taking a chance on Moose to fill in at 3B until LeMahieu returns.
Well, he’d be much cheaper than Donaldson was for a 3B who is no longer any good.
LeMahieu only projects to miss 10 days. Cabrera can hold it until then.
And they’ll release Moose and soon as DJL returns so why would he sign there in the first place?
Because his next stop is the Mexican Leagues if he doesn’t take any offer that he gets. Getting released from the Sox isn’t exactly a bullet point you want on your resume. Luckily, this is a non-issue, as the Yankees have more than enough depth to cover third base for ten days.
White Sox 70 wins
Kc 69 wins
How do the white Sox improve that much from what they did last year with a worse roster?
Addition by subtraction. Grandal was the worst starting catcher in MLB for the past two seasons. They also have improved their up the middle defense immensely. When healthy, their 3-6 is good:
Robert
Eloy
Moncada
Vaughn
Not a good team, but competitive and heading in the right direction.
You’re not wrong whatsoever. I still predict 64-67 wins. Still last in ALC but hopefully less embarrassing than last season.
Heading in the right direction? How so, exactly? Maldonado was far worse than Grandal last season, by 1 full WAR. Including Vaughn is this case is laughable, and he’s a below average hitter and one of the worst defensive first basemen in baseball.
Also, you totally ignore the pitching, which could be colossally bad.
TA was worse than DeJong
AV is average at best. Maldy is better defensively(not by much), the pitching can be “ok” at best. Some of their pitchers were good in the past like Soroka, Fedde, Flexen, and several bounceback candidates. They can turn bad pitchers into average at best.
For the Sox to even win 65, they’d need multiple guys on that pitching staff to achieve best case scenarios. Fedde has never had major league success, only KBO. Soroka’s lone good season was five years ago now. Flexen was an absolute dumpster fire last season. One of that group being good would be an upset; turning them all around would be next to impossible.
I’m not saying they are hitting the jackpot in everyone. Flexen was a decent pitcher prior to 2023. He’s a decent bounce back candidate.
Flexen is an extreme fly ball pitcher. Not a good fit for GR.
It’s the WS pitching that appears to be dreadful. The White Sox by May will be campaigning for a new mercy rule.
“Maldonado was far worse than Grandal last season, by 1 full WAR.”
Which proves that WAR is just a flawed theory. Grandal was beyond horrible. Also, Stassi and Lee are both upgrades over Grandal as well.
Maldonado = 1 year $4 mil
Grandal = 1 year $2.5 mil
Not a chance the Sox win 70. 60 would be a miracle.
No way the White Sox win 70 games.
Lol
Typical clueless Wht Sox fan. If Over / Under was 35
Id still take the under
Perhaps if the Royals and Guardians team planes crash in April the White Sox win 70.
Not surprised at Moustakas. He wasn’t hitting. Pillar is expendable because the Sox signed Grossman. And the Sox seem committed to Sheets, who is having a good spring. But the guy is brutal in RF. I sit out that way and his approach to the ball in flight is awful. Still, I think there are guys who will be in Chicago who opted out from other teams. Don’t buy those scorecards just yet!
Tell me why I see the angels picking him back up..
Because you are sad… you can be happy because they won’t pick him up.
Pillar could be a good fit for the Reds. It’s he still a solid defender?
That White Sox roster is grim.
Yeah, fans are going to need a ‘Robert alert’ app, that is an app that informs you to turn on the game when Robert is hitting, so you can ignore the rest of the game.
Pilar is 35, Career 16.1 BWAR in 11 seasons. About $23M in lifetime earnings. Moose is 35, Career 13 BWAR,, 13 seasons, About $99M in lifetime earnings
We mock Boras, but look what Moose has earned for all that mediocracy.
Luck and timing also plays a big part in career earnings but Moose could’ve done at lot worst with another agent. I don’t think any other agent could’ve gotten what Boras got for Stephen Strasburg if it weren’t for his friendly relationship with the Lerners.
Moustakas was a contributor to 2 World Series teams who the hit 91 Homer’s in 3 seasons. Pillar only had 1 good offensive season and it came the year of the juiced ball.
Definitely could be agent effect. Could also be moose was a major contributor to a 2 WS teams (1 winner). He was huge for KC. It elevated his profile. Pillar , who was a genie in the OF for a long time did it on middling teams. Moose was also a more consistent bat for most, or more, of his career than pillar. Jmo.
Long Island Ducks might not be that far off
Pillar would be better served to been a Braves; not sure if they offered him a contract. He was really for Atlanta last year
So I was sitting in Dunkin enjoying a dark roast coffee pondering what moves the whitesox will make this year. I was wearing my 1989 Russ Morman jersey. So I was listening to the word on the street in Bridgeport when Dan Pasqua came walking in. He saw my jersey so he knew I was a fan. He bought me a vanilla long John and he shared some baseball stories from years past. He shared a rumor that Billy Jo Robidoux is coming out of retirement to play second base this year. Yes you heard it here first. Stay tuned
Why does a moose need sox, and a pillar doesn’t need sox either, it can stand on its own.
Because they will get blisters from their snow boots if they are not wearing sox. Duh.
You get cut by White Sox I would think that’s about it
The A’s might still take a fler on either of them.
Moose, if you’re done, take your 70+ million, World Series ring, and three all-star appearances, and go home and enjoy your family and retirement. A job well done.