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Kevin Pillar Announces Retirement

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Kevin Pillar is hanging up his Superman cape. On an appearance on Foul Territory, he announced that he is retiring from playing. He was with the Rangers earlier this year but was released about a month ago.

Pillar, now 36, was able to engineer an incredible zero-to-hero career. The Blue Jays drafted him in the 32nd round of the 2011 draft. But despite that humble beginning, he would not only make it to the big leagues but he would stick around for more than a decade.

His best asset was his defense, as he quickly earned a reputation for making highlight-reel catches, often diving horizontally in a way that earned him his Superman nickname. He got some limited big league time in 2013 and 2014 before fully cementing himself as a big leaguer in 2015.

That year, he got into 159 games for the Jays, producing a batting line of .278/.314/.399. His 94 wRC+ indicated he was 6% below league average at the plate, but that was more than adequate to pair with his other attributes. He stole 25 bases and received strong grades for his glovework, leading FanGraphs to credit him with 3.7 wins above replacement. That played a big role in getting the Jays to the postseason for the first time since 1993. Though the club was eventually felled by the Royals in the ALCS, the Jays got José Bautista’s legendary bat flip game along the way.

That would ultimately prove to be an apex for Pillar. He never again stole more than 15 bases nor topped a 90 wRC+ in a full season. But he still proved to be a useful player in generally the same shape, with his speed and defense making up for some subpar offense. From 2016 to 2018, he got into 442 games for the Jays, slashing .258/.296/.401 for an 86 wRC+ and producing 4.5 fWAR.

By the time the 2019 season had rolled around, Pillar was 30 years old and the Jays were rebuilding. Early that year, he was flipped to the Giants, which started the journeyman period of his career. Over the next few years, he would bounce to the Red Sox, Rockies, Mets, Dodgers, Braves, White Sox, Angels and Rangers. Though he had moved into his 30s, his performance was roughly the same as before, though with his glovework naturally slipping a bit. Over those 2019-25 seasons, he played 544 games and hit .246/.284/.415 for an 85 wRC+ and produced 2.4 fWAR.

Most recently, he had a stint with the Rangers but hit just .209/.209/.256 in 20 games before getting designated for assignment and released. He had flirted with retirement before but now seems to have decided that it’s time to hang up the spikes.

Any 32nd-round pick making it to the big leagues is exceedingly rare. In fact, the draft was shortened to 20 rounds a few years ago, so it likely won’t happen again. Pillar not only made it, but he got into 1,234 games over 13 seasons. He racked up 1,053 hits, including 114 home runs. He was credited with 10.8 WAR from FanGraphs and 16.1 from Baseball Reference. He earned about $25MM in his career, according to Baseball Reference. We at MLB Trade Rumors congratulate Pillar on an impressive career and wish him the best with whatever comes next.

Marlins Claim Nick Nastrini

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The Marlins have claimed right-hander Nick Nastrini off waivers from the White Sox and optioned him to Triple-A Jacksonville, reports Kevin Barral of Fish on First. Righty Max Meyer, who recently underwent season-ending hip surgery, was transferred to the 60-day injured list to open a 40-man roster spot.

There wasn’t any previous indication that the White Sox had removed Nastrini from their 40-man roster, but it appears they quietly put him on waivers recently. Presumably, they hoped to pass him through unclaimed but the Marlins swooped in to grab him. Chicago’s 40-man roster count drops to 38.

The young righty has not been putting up good numbers this year, which is perhaps why the Sox felt there was a chance no one would claim him. He has thrown 44 1/3 Triple-A innings on the year with a 7.51 earned run average. His 22.7% strikeout rate is fine but he has walked opponents at a massive 18.5% clip.

The Marlins bumped him from the rotation to the bullpen in May. That didn’t help matters much. In his most recent 17 innings, he has a 7.94 ERA and massive 23.2% walk rate, though with an intriguing 30.5% strikeout rate.

Despite this year’s rough results, the Marlins have grabbed him. They had a roster spot open and Nastrini has shown promise at times, though mostly in that high-strikeout, high-walk style. From 2022 to 2024, he threw 316 1/3 minor league innings with a 4.35 ERA, 29.6% strikeout rate and 11.6% walk rate. He also tossed 35 2/3 major league innings for the Sox last year, though with poor results. He had a 7.07 ERA, 14.9% strikeout rate and 20.9% walk rate.

He can still be optioned for the rest of this year and one additional season. The Marlins are one of the few clubs clearly not in contention at the moment, so they are an understandable landing spot for a project like Nastrini.

Photo courtesy of Eric Hartline, Imagn Images

Trade Deadline Outlook: Chicago White Sox

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The White Sox are next up in MLBTR's new Trade Deadline Outlook series.  After losing a modern-day record 121 games last year, the Sox are on pace to lose "only" 108 this year.  The Pale Hose remain firmly in the "clear seller" group as one of six teams with less than a 1% shot at reaching the playoffs.

White Sox executive vice president/general manager Chris Getz took over after the 2023 trade deadline, so this is only his second time being in the top chair for the event.  Last summer, Getz packaged several of his top assets together in Erick Fedde, Michael Kopech, and Tommy Pham, netting Miguel Vargas as the headliner.  That trade looked rough out of the gate, as Vargas was one of the game's worst players after joining the White Sox.  The 25-year-old somewhat redeemed himself with a hot May this year.

Getz held out until the offseason to move lefty Garrett Crochet, drawing better reviews for that deal.  While the four-player return on that trade looks promising, it may still be painful to see Crochet locked up through 2031 and vying for the AL Cy Young award.  That deal will take years to truly evaluate, but as we look ahead to July, the question for the White Sox is whether they have anything valuable left to trade.

Record: 28-56 (0.0% playoff probability)

Sell Mode

Impending Free Agents: Aaron Civale, Martin Perez, Adrian Houser, Tyler Alexander, Michael A. Taylor, Austin Slater

Civale was picked up from the Brewers in a one-for-one swap on June 13th for Andrew Vaughn.  Perhaps it was a bit of a monkey's paw situation for the 30-year-old Civale, who requested a trade from the contending Brewers upon being moved to the bullpen, only to land in the rotation of the rebuilding White Sox.

Civale was hoping to maintain his earning power as a starting pitcher, though it's unclear he's helped his case in a small three-start sample with Chicago.  On the season, he's got a well-deserved 4.74 ERA in eight starts, having missed over a month with a hamstring strain.  He's been unable to miss bats this year and his homer-prone tendencies have continued.

The White Sox had nothing to lose by acquiring Civale, in that they were highly likely to non-tender Vaughn after the season.  But as an $8MM back of the rotation guy, Civale won't be making playoff starts in October and won't bring more than a low-level prospect.  Potential suitors may want some help with his salary.

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White Sox Place Luis Robert Jr. On 10-Day Injured List

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The White Sox announced this afternoon that they’ve placed outfielder Luis Robert Jr. on the 10-day injured list with a left hamstring strain. The move is retroactive to June 26. Chicago will make a corresponding roster move prior to Tuesday’s game against the Dodgers, but will have just 25 players available for this afternoon’s game against the Giants.

The fact that Robert needs an IL stint is hardly a surprise given that he’s missed each of the club’s last three games, but (as noted by Vinnie Duber of the Chicago Sun Times) the timing of the move is a bit unusual. Robert was participating in light baseball activities before today’s game against the Giants, and he was expected to be evaluated further on Monday in order to determine whether or not an IL stint would be necessary. Perhaps Robert’s pregame activities today made it clear to the Sox that a trip to the shelf would be needed. It’s also worth noting that IL stints can be backdated a maximum of three days, so any time spent waiting after today would’ve effectively lengthened the minimum amount of time that Chicago would be without their outfielder.

The White Sox are surely hoping this will be a minimum stint or close to it. The possibility for a Robert trade has been a major topic of the rumor mill for years now, and after the club declined to trade him at various other points throughout their rebuild for fear of selling low on their mercurial and oft-injured star, his value may now be at its lowest point ever.

Robert has hit just .185/.270/.313 across 73 games this year. While he’s swiped 23 bases and is walking at a career-high 10.2% clip, he’s striking out more than 30% of the time and has the worst power numbers of his career. Even his once-elite center field defense isn’t holding up quite as well as it has in previous years. While his +3 Outs Above Average is certainly a solid number, it’s a far cry from the +13 OAA Robert posted back in 2023.

Between Robert’s declining offense and high salary, it could be difficult for the White Sox to find takers on the outfielder this summer. Perhaps that’s why the Sox are reportedly willing to include cash alongside Robert in order to facilitate getting a deal done. Robert is due around $7.5MM for the remainder of this season, but if the White Sox were willing to pay a significant amount of that down it might be easier for them to work out a trade.

After all, Robert’s offensive potential is still immense even amid his recent stretch of injuries and ineffectiveness, and even if he doesn’t reach that ceiling adding a plus defensive center fielder with speed to the lineup could be valuable for a team like the Guardians or Braves that has struggled to find production in center field this year. Robert is also still hitting a robust .268/.406/.464 against left-handed pitching this year, so perhaps a team like the Rangers or Giants that struggles against southpaws could have interest in bringing him into the fold as well.

All of this, of course, will hinge on Robert returning in relatively short order with enough time to prove himself reasonably healthy and effective before the trade deadline. Even mild hamstring strains can often require at least a couple of weeks of recovery, and if Robert isn’t ready to go by the time the White Sox come back from the All-Star break that could leave the club in a bit of a bind as they try to get what they can for the former All-Star. In the meantime, they’ll continue turning to Michael A. Taylor to cover center field while Robert recovers.

White Sox Activate Jonathan Cannon From 15-Day IL

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  • The White Sox activated Jonathan Cannon from the 15-day injured list today, and the right-hander allowed a run on three hits and three walks (with four strikeouts) over three innings of a start in Chicago’s 5-2 over the Giants today.  Cannon missed just short of four weeks dealing with a lower back strain, and he now has a 4.59 ERA over 13 appearances (11 starts) and 66 2/3 innings this season.  A third-round pick for the Sox in the 2022 draft, Cannon made his Major League in 2024 and figures to be part of Chicago’s rotation for the rest of the season as the rebuilding White Sox figure out their future rotation.  Right-hander Wikelman Gonzalez was optioned to Triple-A in the corresponding move for Cannon’s activation.

White Sox Sign Noah Syndergaard To Minor League Deal

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4:05pm: Per Jon Heyman of The New York Post, Syndergaard gets $30K per month in the minors. If he’s selected to the majors, he gets a base salary of $1.75MM, though that would presumably be prorated to account for the portion of the season that has already transpired. He can earn an extra $50K by logging 40 innings and $100K each for getting to 55 and 75 innings. He also has a release clause if he’s not in the majors prior to August 1st.

8:47am: The White Sox have signed former All-Star righty Noah Syndergaard to a minor league contract, per James Fegan of Sox Machine. The CAA client is headed to the team’s spring complex in Arizona to build up.

Syndergaard, 33 in August, hasn’t pitched in the majors since splitting the 2023 season between the Dodgers and Guardians. The former Mets star was one of the sport’s most promising young arms from 2015-19 before injuries derailed his career. Syndergaard posted a combined 3.31 ERA with a 26.4% strikeout rate and 5.6% walk rate in 716 innings over that five-year period but never got back on track after multiple arm injuries, most notably including Tommy John surgery.

The Angels signed Syndergaard post-surgery, shelling out a hefty $21MM on a one-year deal and forfeiting a draft pick — the Mets had issued him a qualifying offer — in hopes he’d recapture his ace form. He pitched more like a fourth starter with the Halos, logging a 3.83 ERA with a below-average strikeout rate and a heater that was down more than three miles per hour. They traded him to the Phillies for Mickey Moniak at the ’22 trade deadline, and he gave Philadelphia a similar performance.

A 2023 deal to join the Dodgers didn’t pan out, and L.A. swapped him out for another underperforming veteran (Amed Rosario) in a deadline deal with Cleveland that year. Syndergaard didn’t pitch well with either club and wound up being released by the Guardians about a month after the trade. He opted not to sign anywhere for the 2024 season despite rumored interest from the Padres and Pirates. Midway through last summer, it was reported that Syndergaard was setting his sights on a 2025 comeback. That’ll manifest in the form of an early-summer deal with a rebuilding White Sox club that can provide ample opportunity.

All told, Syndergaard has pitched only 225 1/3 innings in the majors since returning from Tommy John surgery. He’s pitched to a 4.99 ERA in that time with a 15.9% strikeout rate that’s nowhere close to his prior standards. Syndergaard averaged 98.6 mph on his fastball at peak, per Statcast, but has sat 93.2 mph post-surgery — including a 92.2 mph average between Cleveland and Los Angeles in 2023.

With the prevalence of Tommy John surgery in today’s sport, it’s easy to presume the surgery will be a 14-month (give or take) bump in the road for pitchers — one from which they’ll bounce back to full strength or something close to it. Syndergaard is a key reminder that such surgeries are major procedures that come with no promise of rebounding to full strength, or even an approximation of peak form. Hopefully, he can get back on track with the South Siders, but given his post-surgery performance and a big league layoff now approaching two calendar years, Syndergaard is more or less a risk-free lottery ticket for GM Chris Getz’s club.

White Sox Outright Caleb Freeman

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White Sox right-hander Caleb Freeman went unclaimed on outright waivers and has been assigned to Triple-A Charlotte, reports James Fegan of Sox Machine. He doesn’t have either the three years of big league service time or the prior outright assignment needed to reject this assignment in favor of free agency, so Freeman will remain with the organization as a depth arm.

The 27-year-old Freeman made his big league debut with the South Siders this season, tossing 3 1/3 innings over the course of five appearances. He allowed a pair of runs on five hits (one homer) and a walk with three strikeouts. The Sox’ 15th-round pick in 2019, Freeman has pitched to a 2.93 ERA in a combined 27 2/3 innings between Double-A and Triple-A this season — but has done so with an alarming 17.1% walk rate.

Command has been an issue for Freeman throughout his minor league tenure, but he’s also fanned 27% of his opponents in parts of six professional seasons. Freeman sits 95 mph with heater and pairs the pitch with an 82-83 mph curveball and a slider that sits 87-88 mph. It’s possible he’ll get another look with the Sox later this summer, particularly if the Sox wind up trading some of the more veteran members of their bullpen ahead of next month’s deadline.

White Sox Place Davis Martin On IL With Forearm Strain

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The White Sox announced a series of moves ahead of tonight’s series opener in Toronto. They have recalled right-hander Wikelman González, a move that was reported earlier. They have also selected the contract of left-hander Jake Palisch from Double-A Birmingham. Left-hander Cam Booser has been placed on the 15-day injured list due to a left shoulder strain. Right-hander Davis Martin also hits the 15-day IL, in his case due to a right forearm strain, retroactive to June 17th. Right-hander Caleb Freeman has been designated for assignment to open a 40-man spot for Palisch.

In the immediate short term, the Martin injury is quite unfortunate for the Sox. He was scheduled to start tonight’s game in Toronto, though that obviously won’t be happening now. It further hobbles a rotation that has taken a few hits recently. Jonathan Cannon landed on the IL due a lower back strain earlier this month. Adrian Houser is away from the club for a few days on the paternity list.

Without Martin taking the ball tonight, the Sox will perhaps have to cobble together a bullpen game, which is unfortunate timing. They just played a doubleheader yesterday and used eight different relievers to get through the day. Tyler Alexander was the one guy in the bullpen who didn’t throw yesterday, so perhaps he will soak up some innings tonight, while González and Palisch provide two fresh arms. The club also doesn’t have a starter listed for Sunday, with Aaron Civale going on Saturday. Perhaps Houser will be back by Sunday or maybe another bullpen game will be in order.

Putting the short-term concerns aside, it’s always unnerving when a pitcher’s throwing arm is injured. Martin underwent Tommy John surgery in May of 2023, missing that entire season. He returned last year and logged 50 innings with a 4.32 earned run average. He’s added another 80 2/3 innings this year with a 3.91 ERA. Adding to that total will be on pause for now and the Sox will presumably provide some more information about how severe the injury is and how long they expect him to be out of action.

Martin will also need to be replaced in the rotation beyond today’s game. Once Houser is back, he’ll slot in alongside Civale, Shane Smith and Sean Burke. Mike Vasil has started his last three appearances and could perhaps take Martin’s spot.

Palisch, 26, is having a decent season but seems to be something of an emergency call. An undrafted free agent signing from 2022, he has never really popped up on the radar of prospect evaluators. He came into this year with a 4.24 ERA in 97 2/3 minor league innings.

Here in 2025, he has a 1.19 ERA in 53 Double-A innings, though that doesn’t paint the whole picture. His 7% walk rate is good but his 17.4% strikeout rate is subpar. He’s benefitted from a .225 batting average on balls in play, 79.8% strand rate and 1.7% home run to fly ball rate. Regardless of what his true skill level might be, he can help the Sox eat some innings. He has thrown either five or six frames in each of his past seven appearances.

Freeman, 27, was added to the club’s roster just last month. He has since thrown 3 1/3 innings over five appearances, allowing two earned runs on five hits and a walk while striking out three. He’ll now head into DFA limbo, which can last as long as a week. If he were to pass through waivers unclaimed, he would stick with the Sox as non-roster depth. From 2021 to the present, he has thrown 166 2/3 minor league innings with a 3.89 ERA, 26.1% strikeout rate and 14.9% walk rate.

Photo courtesy of Thomas Shea, Imagn Images

White Sox To Promote Wikelman González

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The White Sox are calling up right-hander Wikelman González, reports Chase Ford of MiLB Central. The righty will be making his major league debut as soon as he gets into a game. He’s already on the 40-man roster, so the Sox will only need to make a corresponding active roster move in order to call him up.

González, now 23, was an international signing of the Red Sox out of Venezuela. He was one of four players who came to the White Sox in the Garrett Crochet trade, alongside Kyle Teel, Chase Meidroth and Braden Montgomery. Teel and Meidroth have already been promoted to the majors earlier this year, so Montgomery is the last piece still in the minors. Montgomery has a chance to eventually be the most impactful of the bunch but he was just drafted last summer and is still in High-A.

Throughout his minor league career, González has racked up strikeouts but has also given out a high number of walks. Prospect evaluators have long suggested that his lack of control would eventually push him to the bullpen and that seems to be happening this year.

He came into this year with a high walk rate of 12.6%, working primarily as a starter. He started 2025 in the Double-A rotation and made four starts there but he walked 18.2% of opponents. The Sox then pushed him to the Triple-A bullpen. Through 19 2/3 innings over 12 appearances, he has a 2.75 earned run average. Though that’s a nice ERA,  the underlying problem is still present. He has walked 18.1% of Triple-A batters faced. His ERA would look far worse if not for a .191 batting average on balls in play.

González’s promotion might be less about him forcing his way up to the big leagues and more about team need. The Sox played a doubleheader yesterday and used eight of their nine relievers, with Tyler Alexander the only one who didn’t get called upon. González may still be a work in progress but he will give the Sox a fresh arm going into their weekend series against the Blue Jays, with a good chance to make his major league debut north of the border.

Photo courtesy of Jayne Kamin-Oncea, Imagn Images

White Sox Willing To Include Cash In Trade Talks On Benintendi, Robert

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The White Sox, sporting a 23-52 record, will operate as deadline sellers once again. They don’t have as much to offer as many other potential sellers around the league — partly because they’ve already sold off many desirable assets earlier in this rebuild but also due to the significant salaries of some of their remaining veterans. To that end, Ken Rosenthal and Will Sammon of The Athletic report that the South Siders are willing to include cash to help pay down the salaries on pricey outfielders Luis Robert Jr. and Andrew Benintendi.

Heading into the season, GM Chris Getz surely hoped that wouldn’t be necessary with regard to Robert, in particular. The 27-year-old has performed at a superstar level in the past when healthy. As recently as 2023, Robert slashed .264/.314/.542 (128 wRC+) with 38 home runs, 20 steals and elite center field defense in 145 games. That’s the only season in Robert’s career where he’s played more than 100 games, however. Injuries have repeatedly dogged the electric young outfielder, and he’s now been hitting poorly for more than a year.

Since Opening Day 2024, Robert has turned in an anemic .212/.276/.351 batting line (75 wRC+). He’s fanned in 32.5% of his plate appearances and, in 2025 specifically, been extremely prone to harmless infield pop-ups; 11 of Robert’s 155 batted balls this season (7.1%) have been infield flies.

Despite the run of awful production, there are some reasons for cautious optimism. Robert’s strikeout rate is enormous but not too much higher than the 29% he posted during that brilliant 2023 campaign. He’s also walking at a career-high 9.8% clip and chasing pitches off the plate at a career-low 31.3% rate, per Statcast. He’s hitting the ball as hard as ever, averaging 90.3 mph off the bat with a 42.9% hard-hit rate. Both are his second-best marks in any season of his career. His 11% barrel rate isn’t far behind his career 11.9% mark.

One might expect a player with Robert’s speed to slow down after a 2023 MCL injury and a Grade 3 strain of his hip flexor in 2024, but that’s not the case. Robert is 22-for-27 in stolen base attempts in 2025, and Statcast measures his sprint speed at 28.8 feet per second. That’s actually his fastest mark since his 2020 rookie year and places him in the 87th percentile of big leaguers. Given that plus speed, it’s not surprising to see Robert way up in the 97th percentile in terms of outfield range (as measured by Statcast).

Robert is hitting the ball hard, playing strong defense, showing more patience than ever before and running better than he has since his rookie season. He’s also hitting .190/.273/.303. It’s a confounding state of affairs, but as sharp as the tools may look, the results are clearly going to weigh down his trade value. Many teams with needs in the outfield would love to roll the dice on a Robert rebound following a change of scenery — just not at his current price tag.

This is the final guaranteed season of Robert’s six-year, $50MM contract, but the deal contains a pair of $20MM club options for 2026 and 2027. If he can turn things around, there’s still bargain potential. The Sox missed the boat not trading Robert coming off that 2023 season, but if they’re willing to pay down some of this year’s $15MM salary and the $2MM buyout on Robert’s 2026 club option, they could likely find a taker who’d be willing to give up some degree of prospect value. He’s a gamble, but a high-upside one who can be controlled for two more years at reasonable rates. There’s jackpot potential for a new team, and if things don’t work out in the final couple months, said club could always hit the “eject” button and decline Robert’s 2026 option.

It’s a slightly different story with Benintendi. While Robert has been on the downswing for more than a year, Benintendi has increasingly looked like his old self at the plate for more than a calendar year now. He quietly turned things around midseason last year and is slashing .251/.321/.468 with 24 homers, 24 doubles, two triples, a 9.1% walk rate and an 18.4% strikeout rate in his past 515 plate appearances. By measure of wRC+, that’s 20% better than average at the plate.

Benintendi’s speed is down a bit since his peak, however, and at 30 years old he now grades out as a below-average left fielder. A team that buys into his production dating back to last year might view Benitendi as a serviceable multi-year option in left field. However, he’s being paid $16.5MM this year and next, and his contract calls for a $14.5MM salary in 2027.

Benintendi almost certainly would command less than the two years and $31MM he’s owed for 2026-27 if he were a free agent, but he’s also no longer the total sunk cost he looked to be a year and a half into his five-year contract with Chicago. If the Sox eat half the remaining contract or more, they might well find an interested taker. Plenty of contenders and playoff hopefuls are looking for outfield help; the Padres, Royals, Reds and Dodgers have all gotten poor production from left field this year.

The ChiSox won’t necessarily need to eat salary to move some of their other available players, but speculatively speaking, their willingness to do so on Robert and Benintendi could be a sign they’re willing to do so elsewhere. Aaron Civale’s $8MM salary isn’t prohibitive, but a team looking for a fourth starter to supply innings down the stretch might be willing to give up a bit more if Getz & Co. pick up the tab on most or all of his salary. Mike Tauchman ($1.95MM) and Adrian Houser ($1.35MM) are even less expensive, but covering some of that cash could be particularly beneficial to teams angling to stay under the luxury threshold.

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