Red Sox and Pirates Reportedly Heating up Pursuit of Former Giants and Blue Jays OF Kevin Pillar
By Adam Weinrib
If Red Sox Nation wasn't satisfied by replacing Mookie Betts with Alex Verdugo, then what about a man who got an MVP vote last year?
OK, fine, Kevin Pillar didn't deserve that for his 21-homer, 88-RBI, 1.0-WAR season in San Francisco, but you can do much worse than Spiderman if you've got budget concerns.
After sorting out the Betts trade, it seems the Red Sox are ready to jump into Pillar's market. Based on the sheer number of mentions they've received in this short Jon Heyman tweet, you'd have to guess they'd be the front-runner.
Kevin Pillar narket heating up. Red Sox, Pirates are among teams. Red Sox make great sense with all lefty hitting OF and Verdugo injuries in 2019.
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) February 11, 2020
Pillar would also make sense for Pittsburgh, though; the Pirates do nothing but bargain shop at this exact level.
Boston signing Pillar would have serious Cody Ross vibes, and his defensive wizardry, often rated strangely by defensive metrics because of his supposed range, would do well in center at Fenway, especially if Jackie Bradley Jr. soon becomes another budget casualty.
I would be eternally bothered by Kevin Pillar on the Red Sox so you can go ahead and book that .340 season now
— Adam Weinrib (@AdamWeinrib) February 11, 2020
With Chaim Bloom's mettle being tested by management's trade demands, a low-budget Pillar signing would be much more indicative of his roster construction skills.