Kevin Pillar to SF Giants for INF Alen Hanson, RHP Derek Law and RHP Juan De Paula

[LGBJ29]

Alford is up now. After him we have McGuire, and then literally no other bat on the 40-man. Whatever the opposite of a logjam was, that's what the team had in the OF before doing this. Feels like a move motivated by $ more than anything else.

 

From a viewing standpoint I think it is pretty easy to like this move. For most of us that tune in every night watching someone like Alford learn and grow is worth watching and something different and exciting for this young team.

 

I understand Pillar still brought some value, and moving forward as a depth piece he could still fill a role, but watching the 3 pitch K's in the dirt and first pitch pop ups just gets tiring. When it comes down to it, watching Alford have a great game is a lot more rewarding for a fan than Pillar having a good game, and in a season like this I'll take those small wins

[BTS]

Money is good. Did Hanson ever clear waivers? He was DFA'd just 5 days ago. I think he now stays on our 25 man

 

I can't find confirmation either way, but it would be a bit surprising if Hanson cleared waivers. I think they'll probably option Urena and keep him on the 25-man.

[Jimcanuck]

Is this a legit post or a troll?

 

Its being questioned why trade Pillar now. Certainly plausible there are issues behind the scenes.

[King]

From a viewing standpoint I think it is pretty easy to like this move. For most of us that tune in every night watching someone like Alford learn and grow is worth watching and something different and exciting for this young team.

 

I understand Pillar still brought some value, and moving forward as a depth piece he could still fill a role, but watching the 3 pitch K's in the dirt and first pitch pop ups just gets tiring. When it comes down to it, watching Alford have a great game is a lot more rewarding for a fan than Pillar having a good game, and in a season like this I'll take those small wins

At the same time, watching players treadwater/struggle at the major league level isn't enjoyable.

[bones10]

At the same time, watching players treadwater/struggle at the major league level isn't enjoyable.

 

thats what over half the roster is doing rn

[King]

Looking forward to Stromans take on this.

[LGBJ29]

At the same time, watching players treadwater/struggle at the major league level isn't enjoyable.

 

for sure, I just dont think half a season in AAA will change that much for his long term outlook

[Terminator]

Yeah, I don't really get this.

 

Alford could use half of a season in AAA to prove he is worthy of an MLB roster spot. It's not like he was good last year.

 

Pillar trade could have easily been made around June or July, and if he was having a bad season you could just DFA him just as easily.

 

Yeah I don't think Alford has been banging the door down to get into the big leagues. Despite his advanced age he really doesn't even have that many ABs. A half season in AAA would probably do him some good. I wonder if that's still the plan though and they'll bring Pompey off the DL? Or is Alford a given?

[Jimcanuck]

Looking forward to Stromans take on this.

 

23 minutes ago

[mtljaysfan]

I loved watching Pillar on the field, he made so many hignlight diving/leaping grabs.

 

But it's definetly unpeasant to see him at the plate.

[King]

for sure, I just dont think half a season in AAA will change that much for his long term outlook

 

Well, he put up an 87 wRC+ with almost a sub .100 ISO in 400 AAA PAs last year. I would rather he spends at least a month there and prove he's MLB calibre than him undeservedly making the MLB team and (possibly) blowing chunks.

 

And it's a depth thing too. If Pillar got injured Alford could have just came up and took his spot. Now if Alford and a few other guys get injured it's going to get real ugly, real fast.

[TheHurl]

At the same time, watching players treadwater/struggle at the major league level isn't enjoyable.

 

The only frustrating part about Pillar for me was those 3 week stretches where he would suddenly look like he could hit everything. The 143 wRC+ in April, followed by three months of sub 65 wRC+.

 

There will always be some team who thinks they can sustain average to slightly above average hitting Pillar, at least until his Defense tumbles.

[EastCoaster]

I can't really say I'm surprised by this trade Grichuk is equally as good in CF as Pillar McKinney in RF and Alford should be coming up. The good news is we won't have to watch Reid Foley again giving up 5 runs in an inning to team like the Orioles who are suppose to be one of the worst team in the league this year Law will take his spot.

 

The Jays could've waited I guess till mid season to see what kind of numbers Pillar could of put up for better trade value but right now the need for immediate MLB ready pitching was the concern before the found themselves in a deep hole out of the box.

 

Any common lead could become unsurmountable for this team.

[LGBJ29]

Well, he put up an 87 wRC+ with almost a sub .100 ISO in 400 AAA PAs last year. I would rather he spends at least a month there and prove he's MLB calibre than him undeservedly making the MLB team and (possibly) blowing chunks.

 

And it's a depth thing too. If Pillar got injured Alford could have just came up and took his spot. Now if Alford and a few other guys get injured it's going to get real ugly, real fast.

 

For sure, and I can see your point. His second half was much better than his first and he was raking in the spring so I dont have a problem giving him a shot this quick. He still has options too if he does blow.

 

Playing a corner outfield spot shouldn't be hard for most of these guys, so if injuries pile up you can start to shift utility players out there. There probably isnt even a drop off for a guy like Travis, Drury or Gurriel in left from Teoscar. Even if it is we're gonna win about 70 games this year, we don't have that much to lose in that situation. A trade for Pillar may not even be on the table in a couple of months if a team like the Giants find someone else, or Pillar continues to decline rapidly

[BTS]

Yeah I don't think Alford has been banging the door down to get into the big leagues. Despite his advanced age he really doesn't even have that many ABs. A half season in AAA would probably do him some good. I wonder if that's still the plan though and they'll bring Pompey off the DL? Or is Alford a given?

 

TBH, even if they wanted to see Alford up ASAP there were guys with options that could have been used to faciliate that: all of Hernandez, McKinney, and Tellez are something like replacement level and certainly aren't above being sent down for a few weeks. And the bats are actually pretty healthy right now, aside from Pompey and Travis who are both made of glass.

 

This is being sold and largely perceived as a move to make room for an exciting prospect, but that prospect isn't actually very exciting, and Pillar certainly wasn't standing in his way. Really this is about clearing $5M because the team doesn't care about Pillar's two wins in a lost season. IMO it's the opposite of the kind of move fans should be applauding. The team got marginally worse today to save a few bucks in the short term.

[Spanky99]

Meh... this return is why you don't trade Pillar, hopefully something hits on this move.

[wilko]

Damn, if only we kept Smith Jr.... I watched the O's feed last night and they couldn't stop sucking his dick during the broadcast.

[TheHurl]

In his entire baseball career (Pro, minors, high school) Grichuk has played 100 games in a season in CF once (2016 when he was a +7 DRS). Could be that this has less to do with giving Alford a chance, but getting Grichuk in there on a more regular basis.

[Dick_Pole]

The biggest positive I see of this trade will be that Jim will finally shut the f*** up after a couple more days of this.

[Spanky99]

Damn, if only we kept Smith Jr.... I watched the O's feed last night and they couldn't stop sucking his dick during the broadcast.

 

lol... right?

[Jimcanuck]

The biggest positive I see of this trade will be that Jim will finally shut the f*** up after a couple more days of this.

 

I'll find another way to upset you, snowflake

[Slade]

Well, he put up an 87 wRC+ with almost a sub .100 ISO in 400 AAA PAs last year. I would rather he spends at least a month there and prove he's MLB calibre than him undeservedly making the MLB team and (possibly) blowing chunks.

 

And it's a depth thing too. If Pillar got injured Alford could have just came up and took his spot. Now if Alford and a few other guys get injured it's going to get real ugly, real fast.

 

They don't have to hand him the job. They can run with Teoscar LF, Grichuk CF and McKinney RF for now.

[43211234]

I'll miss Pillar. He has at least two wins in all of his full seasons. Hurl is right, the hate is very undeserved.

 

Sounds like a meh return but whatever.

Edited April 2, 2019 by 43211234

[Jimcanuck]

They don't have to hand him the job. They can run with Teoscar LF, Grichuk CF and McKinney RF for now.

 

He's not riding the pine. He'll be in there most games, unless he sucks too much to be intolerable

[Dick_Pole]

Meh. Two players who were recently DFA'd and aren't on the 40-man roster, and a s***** pitching prospect.

 

I don't understand the urgency to make this move. There is currently one hitter that's a) healthy, on the 40-man, and c) not on the 25-man: Reese McGuire.

 

Yeah, I don't really get this.

 

Alford could use half of a season in AAA to prove he is worthy of an MLB roster spot. It's not like he was good last year.

 

Pillar trade could have easily been made around June or July, and if he was having a bad season you could just DFA him just as easily.

 

Jim was writing letters to the FO, spamming their Twitter feed and standing outside the Rogers Centre with a megaphone demanding that Pillar be traded immediately. Management came to the conclusion that the cost and annoyance of dealing with this for an extra few months wasn't worth the potential extra return.

[Jimcanuck]

You are welcome, everyone

[Terminator]

TBH, even if they wanted to see Alford up ASAP there were guys with options that could have been used to faciliate that: all of Hernandez, McKinney, and Tellez are something like replacement level and certainly aren't above being sent down for a few weeks. And the bats are actually pretty healthy right now, aside from Pompey and Travis who are both made of glass.

 

This is being sold and largely perceived as a move to make room for an exciting prospect, but that prospect isn't actually very exciting, and Pillar certainly wasn't standing in his way. Really this is about clearing $5M because the team doesn't care about Pillar's two wins in a lost season. IMO it's the opposite of the kind of move fans should be applauding. The team got marginally worse today to save a few bucks in the short term.

 

Yeah I agree.. Moving Kendrys already facilitated more playing time anyway. It's a long season too, someone is going to get hurt which frees up even more playing time. The likelihood of Jonathan Davis or some other turd OF logging 300+ ABs this year is pretty high right now.

 

That said, I'm not that upset about it. It's a rebuild, we create more roster space for certain young players (while not that valuable it's a thing), we pinch some pennies (another thing), we got a lotto ticket (probably the best thing out of this) and a couple of guys that perhaps the FO sees something in (however unlikely). Not happy with it but meh.

[Terminator]

They don't have to hand him the job. They can run with Teoscar LF, Grichuk CF and McKinney RF for now.

 

Is there a worse defensive OF in baseball than that one?

[Dick_Pole]

I'll miss Pillar. He has at least two wins in all of his Gulf full seasons. Hurl is right, the hate is very undeserved.

 

Sounds like a meh return but whatever.

 

Who here actually hates Pillar other than the one obvious moron? He was a useful player that the Jays drafted very late and spent almost nothing on. His tenure here was about as efficient as one could hope when developing a major league roster.

[Governator]

I don't imagine too many 30yr old regular ball players enjoying being on a team that's in rebuild mode. He was quoted talking about Atkin's plans for waiting until 2022 to compete during ST, maybe he had one foot out the door?