A lot of questions, but one of them was addressed yesterday as the team added veteran outfielder Kevin Pillar from the Toronto Blue Jays in exchange for three players that weren't in the immediate plans of the tornado vortex that surrounds general manager Farhan Zaidi.
The 30-year-old Pillar hit .252 last season for Toronto with 15 homers, 59 RBI and 14 steals and will earn 5.8 million this season before being arbitration eligible for the 2020 season.
Pillar's bat is average at best, but he's been in double digits in homers in three of his four full seasons and in steals each of the season, so he's not awful, but he's not the type of player that will provide a large jolt of offense to the Giants outfield that is in desperate need of such a player.
What Kevin Pillar does bring is this- a Gold Glove level defender that will flat out cover some ground in Oracle Park (Bear with me, it's going to take a while before that rolls right off the page naturally).
Defense in Oracle's vast outfield is always going to be more important to the Giants than it would be for many other teams and the ability of Pillar to save some runs defensively will be a welcomed addition to a Giants pitching staff that looked behind them in the first week of the season to see Michael Reed (Designated for assignment to make space for Pillar) and Connor Joe in the outfield, which likely did not raise their confidence.
The Giants traded three players for Pillar, minor league pitchers Juan DePaula and Derek Law along with utilityman Alen Hanson.
DePaula was assigned to start the season with low A Augusta after being acquired in last August's Andrew McCutchen trade with the Yankees, while Law was at AAA Sacramento and Hanson had been designated for assignment.
Law had pitched well for the Giants in 61 appearances in 2016, but struggled badly in 2017 and spent most of last season in Sacramento, so a change of scenery might have been best for him.
Hanson, a one time top prospect with the Pirates, appeared to have turned his career around last season with the Giants hitting .252 with eight homers along with being able to play several positions, but with a team that is carrying two rule five players for the season in Travis Bergen and Connor Joe, roster space was at a premium.
Will Kevin Pillar be the answer to contending?
Hardly. but he'll be a defensive help, with an occasional homer, etc and with Gerardo Parra and Steven Duggar will form a strong defensive outfield, if not one that will remind anyone of a good hitting one.
I'm a little disappointed to lose Juan DePaula, but not thoroughly upset, while Derek Law and Alen Hanson were spare parts.
Good for the Giants for at least trying to upgrade a little for the next two seasons and at not a cheap price, but counting on this as a major acquisition or a long-term foundation piece is a bit of a stretch,
Back later with the demise of the AAF and my thoughts on that and the baseball season beginning last night in Altoona.
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