Giants Cut Ties with Center Fielder Kevin Pillar!
It appears that former Giants Center Fielder Kevin Pillar is back to being a free agent again. Read on…
CelebNSports247.com reports as of Monday’s non-tender deadline, the SF Giants informed Center Fielder Kevin Pillar that he will not have the chance to return for the 2020 season.
Kevin Pillar expressed a desire to remain with the San Francisco Giants in 2020 but is NOT going to happen. That’s right Giants fans, the leader in home runs, RBI, runs scored and stolen bases will not return to the organization next season.
The Giants made the bold decision to cut Pillar which will be a huge disappointment with a significant percentage of Giants fans that fell in love with Pillar’s all-gas, no brakes style of play.
Pillar, who turns 31 in January, was arbitration-eligible and likely to earn around $9-10 million if the Giants tendered him a contract for 2020, but he’ll instead become a free agent.
President of Baseball Operations for the San Francisco Giants Farhan Zaidi said:
We as an organization and as a front office really appreciate his contributions. Our 2019 season would not have been the same without him. We’re trying to build something longer-term and sustainable and he was going to be in the last year of his contract.
Poor performance and injuries forced Duggar to cede the center field job to Pillar, who appeared in 156 games for San Francisco and earned the team’s highest honor, winning the Willie Mac Award as the Giants’ most inspirational player.
What Are The Giants Plans for the Future?
The Giants did agree to terms with three arbitration-eligible players on Monday, signing outfielder Alex Dickerson, infielder Donovan Solano and pitcher Wandy Peralta to one-year contracts for the 2020 season. Aside from Pillar, outfielder Joey Rickard and recently acquired pitchers Tyler Anderson and Rico Garcia were non-tendered on Monday.
It’s unclear how the Giants will divide playing time in center field next season, but it’s unlikely they’ll turn to the free-agent market to find a veteran replacement. – Mercury News
Zaidi plans to promote from within apparently by giving one of their younger, inexperienced outfielders to handle larger roles and pay less.
We feel like we a have an opportunity to provide some at-bats to some young guys who can be productive players and be in our uniforms for a long time. I think fans can and should be excited about those guys.
Thoughts?
