Kevin Pillar is hanging up his Superman cape. On an look on “Foul Territory,” he introduced that he’s retiring from enjoying. He was with the Rangers earlier this yr however was launched a couple of month in the past.
Pillar, now 36, was in a position to engineer an unbelievable zero-to-hero profession. The Blue Jays drafted him within the Thirty second spherical of the 2011 draft. However regardless of that humble starting, he wouldn’t solely make it to the large leagues, however he would stick round for greater than a decade.
His greatest asset was his protection, as he rapidly earned a popularity for making highlight-reel catches, typically diving horizontally in a approach that earned him his Superman nickname. He bought some restricted massive league time in 2013 and 2014 earlier than absolutely cementing himself as a giant leaguer in 2015.
That yr, he bought into 159 video games for the Jays, producing a batting line of .278/.314/.399. His 94 wRC+ indicated he was 6% beneath league common on the plate, however that was greater than sufficient to pair along with his different attributes. He stole 25 bases and acquired sturdy grades for his glovework, main FanGraphs to credit score him with 3.7 wins above substitute. That performed a giant function in getting the Jays to the postseason for the primary time since 1993. Though the membership was finally felled by the Royals within the ALCS, the Jays bought José Bautista’s legendary bat-flip recreation alongside the way in which.
That will in the end show to be an apex for Pillar. He by no means once more stole greater than 15 bases nor topped a 90 wRC+ in a full season. However he nonetheless proved to be a helpful participant in usually the identical form, along with his pace and protection making up for some subpar offense. From 2016 to 2018, he bought into 442 video games for the Jays, slashing .258/.296/.401 for an 86 wRC+ and producing 4.5 fWAR.
By the point the 2019 season had rolled round, Pillar was 30 years outdated and the Jays had been rebuilding. Early that yr, he was flipped to the Giants, which began the journeyman interval of his profession. Over the subsequent few years, he would bounce to the Purple Sox, Rockies, Mets, Dodgers, Braves, White Sox, Angels and Rangers. Though he had moved into his 30s, his efficiency was roughly the identical as earlier than, although along with his glovework naturally slipping a bit. Over these 2019-25 seasons, he performed 544 video games and hit .246/.284/.415 for an 85 wRC+ and produced 2.4 fWAR.
Most not too long ago, he had a stint with the Rangers however hit simply .209/.209/.256 in 20 video games earlier than getting designated for task and launched. He had flirted with retirement earlier than however now appears to have determined that it’s time to hold up the spikes.
Any Thirty second-round choose making it to the large leagues is exceedingly uncommon. In actual fact, the draft was shortened to twenty rounds a number of years in the past, so it possible gained’t occur once more. Pillar not solely made it, however he bought into 1,234 video games over 13 seasons. He racked up 1,053 hits, together with 114 dwelling runs. He was credited with 10.8 WAR from FanGraphs and 16.1 from Baseball Reference. He earned about $25M in his profession, in keeping with Baseball Reference.
We at MLB Commerce Rumors congratulate Pillar on a powerful profession and need him one of the best with no matter comes subsequent.
