Giants Surprisingly Non-Tender OF Kevin Pillar
By Mark Powell
Color us surprised on this one.
While clearly not deserving of even one lone MVP vote (which actually happened!), Kevin Pillar stood out as the San Francisco Giants offensive leader, and maintained his superstar status in the outfield.
Despite all of that, and showing a willingness to lead this Giants team into an uncertain future, Pillar has been non-tendered by San Francisco.
This one is a bit of a surprise: Kevin Pillar non-tendered by #SFGiants. First reported: @JonHeyman.
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) December 3, 2019
Pillar played his first five games in Toronto before he was dealt to the Bay, where he put together a very good season, hitting .264 with 21 homes runs and 87 RBIs.
Rather than bring back the veteran outfielder, San Francisco is letting him walk, where he'll command a respectable deal given the number of teams in need of outfield help, especially in center. Pillar makes gold glove-caliber plays with ease, and adds a more-than-respectable bat to boot.
So Pillar heads to free agency off nice season. Should do fine. Many teams seek a CF (Mets, Reds, Cubs, Dbacks, Padres, more)
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) December 3, 2019
With many teams perusing the trade market for an outfield upgrade, expect Pillar to command attention on a contract that won't break the bank, but allows a contender to avoid trading away their entire farm system for a superstar.