Biography

BIOGRAPHY

Kevin Pillar was born on January 4, 1989, in West Hills, California. He plays as an outfielder in the MLB.

He previously played for the Toronto Blue Jays, San Francisco Giants, Boston Red Sox, and Colorado Rockies. Pillar was an All-American center fielder in college. He set the NCAA Division II record with a 54-game hitting streak in 2010, and established his school's all-time record with a career batting average of .367. Pillar was drafted by the Blue Jays in the 32nd round (979th overall) of the 2011 Major League Baseball draft.

In 2011, he batted .347, winning the Appalachian League batting title and leading the organization in batting average in his first minor league season, and was named an Appalachian League All-Star. In 2012 Pillar batted .323, while stealing 51 bases (second-most in the organization), and was named the Midwest League MVP, a mid-season and a post-season All-Star, the best hitting prospect in the league by Baseball America, and a Topps Class A All-Star and MiLB.com Organization All-Star. In 2013, he led the organization in hits for the second consecutive year, and Baseball America designated him the "Best Hitter for Average" among the Blue Jays' prospects. He made his major league debut for the Blue Jays in August 2013. In 2014, he led the International League in doubles while batting .323, and was named an IL post-season All-Star. In his minor league career through 2016, he batted .324.

In 2015, Pillar was named the Wilson Defensive Player of the Year for center field, and in 2016 he was awarded the Fielding Bible Award for the center field position.

On February 8, 2017, Pillar was announced as the cover athlete for the Canadian version of R.B.I. Baseball 17. During the offseason, Pillar worked to improve his plate discipline, with the goal of becoming the lead-off hitter for the Blue Jays. Early in the season, he split time at the lead-off role with Devon Travis; however, Travis struggled in the role and Pillar became the everyday lead-off hitter in late April. On May 13, Pillar became the American League leader in hits with 47, after a 3-for-4 performance against the Seattle Mariners. The following day, Pillar hit the first walk-off home run of his career, a solo shot off Mariners closer Edwin Díaz to give Toronto a 3–2 victory.

In the Blue Jays’ 8–4 loss to the Atlanta Braves on May 17, Braves pitcher Jason Motte struck out Pillar with a quick pitch. Pillar then called Motte a homophobic slur, Motte and Braves catcher Kurt Suzuki confronted him, and both dugouts rushed onto the field. Following the game, Pillar publicly apologized to Motte. The next day, the Blue Jays held a press conference at which Pillar apologized again, and the team announced that Pillar would be suspended for two games; he was also fined an undisclosed amount by MLB.

For the 2017 season, Pillar batted .256/.300/.404 with career-highs in doubles (37) and home runs (16), as he scored 72 runs and stole 15 bases. His .997 fielding percentage as a center fielder was the best in the league, and his eight assists as a center fielder were second-most in the AL. On October 28, he was named a center field Gold Glove award finalist.

On January 12, 2018, Pillar signed a one-year, $3.25 million contract with the Blue Jays, avoiding salary arbitration. In Toronto's 5–3 victory over the New York Yankees on March 31, Pillar became the first Blue Jay to steal three bases in one inning, when he stole second, third, and home plate in the eighth. It was also the team's first successful straight steal of home since Aaron Hill did so in 2007. On July 1 he made a wall-leaping home-run-robbing catch that was rated the # 2 defensive play of the year on MLB Network's “Top 100 Plays of 2018″. He was placed on the disabled list on July 15 after spraining his right sternoclavicular joint (where his collarbone attaches to his chest wall) on a diving catch.

Pillar finished the 2018 season leading the team in batting average (.252), doubles (40; a career high), and stolen bases (14), while coming in 10th in the American League in stolen-base percentage (83.25%). He also hit 15 home runs and 59 RBIs. With the team trading pitcher Aaron Loup during the season, Pillar became – at 29 years of age – the longest-tenured active Blue Jay.

In January 2019, Pillar signed a one-year, $5.8 million contract with the Blue Jays, avoiding arbitration. He played five games for the team in 2019 before being traded. He concluded his Toronto career with a seven-year stolen base percentage of 75.82%, 8th-best all-time of all Blue Jays.

For the 2019 season with the Giants, he batted .264/.293/.442 with 37 doubles (8th in the NL), 21 home runs, 87 RBIs, and 6 sacrifice flies (8th) while stealing 14 bases; his 161 games played for the season were 6th in the majors, while his 6.9 at bats per strikeout were 7th. On defense, he was 3rd in the league in both his range factor/game as an outfielder (2.30) and his fielding percentage as a center fielder (.986). He led the Giants (or tied for the lead) in runs, doubles, triples, home runs, RBIs, and stolen bases.

In September, Pillar received the Willie Mac Award, given to the team's most inspirational player, as voted on by players, coaches, trainers, and fans. In November, Pillar received one vote for 2019 National League Most Valuable Player. San Francisco opted not to tender Pillar a contract on December 2, 2019, making him a free agent.

On February 14, 2020, Pillar signed a one-year, $4.25 million contract with the Boston Red Sox. With the Red Sox during the first half of the delayed-start 2020 season, Pillar batted .274 in 117 at bats over 30 games with 20 runs, seven doubles, two triples (3rd in the AL at the time of the trade), four home runs, and 13 RBIs. On defense he played error-less baseball and had two assists from right field (3rd), as he played 24 games in right field, six games in center field, and two games in left field.

At the trade deadline of the 2020 season, August 31, Boston traded Pillar to the Colorado Rockies in exchange for pitcher Jacob Wallace.

In 2020 for Colorado, Pillar batted .308/.351/.451 with 2 home runs, 14 runs, and 13 RBIs in 91 at bats, as on defense he played almost exclusively center field.

On February 21, 2021, Pillar signed a one-year contract with the New York Mets with player and club options for 2022. The contract guaranteed Pillar $3.6 million in 2021. The player option is worth $2.9 million with no buyout, and the club option is worth $6.4 million with a $1.4 million buyout.

On January 18, 2023, Pillar signed a minor league contract with the Atlanta Braves organization. On March 30, Pillar had his contract selected after making the Opening Day roster.