Search

Pillar agrees to 1-year deal with Mets (source) - MLB.com

erotoko.blogspot.com

NEW YORK -- For most of this offseason, the Mets worked to get stronger up the middle. They acquired Francisco Lindor to play shortstop, shifted Jeff McNeil to second base and signed James McCann to work behind the plate. Now, the Mets have multiple possibilities in center field as well.

The team agreed to terms on Monday on a one-year deal with , a historically strong defender who is coming off his best year as a hitter. Pillar won’t necessarily be an everyday starter for the Mets, but his presence gives them the option of moving Brandon Nimmo to left, at least on occasion, to improve their defense in two spots.

The Mets have not announced the deal, which is pending a physical. The base guarantee is $5 million for one season, a source told MLB.com, with a structure that allows it potentially to become a two-year deal worth up to $10 million.

Pillar, 32, slashed .288/.336/.462 with six home runs across 54 games last season for the Red Sox and Rockies. He’s a career .262 hitter with 82 home runs over eight big league seasons in Toronto, San Francisco, Boston and Colorado. The California native has a strong defensive reputation from his time patrolling center field with the Blue Jays, but he has rated closer to average by Statcast’s Outs Above Average metric as his career has progressed.

To that end, Pillar posted 11 OAA in 2016 with the Blue Jays but hasn’t come close to that total in any year since, bottoming out at -2 OAA last summer.

The deal is curious in that the Mets also recently signed Albert Almora Jr., a strong center field defender, to a one-year deal. But Almora has a Minor League option remaining, meaning the Mets could start him at Triple-A Syracuse without penalty if they desire. Or the Mets could carry both, giving themselves significant flexibility to sub in defenders late in games.

Pillar is a more experienced option than Almora, with a far longer track record of offensive success. His career OPS is more than 100 points higher against left-handed pitchers (.784) than righties (.678), making him an automatic play when the Mets face a lefty. The team’s three starting outfielders, Nimmo, Michael Conforto and Dominic Smith, are all left-handed hitters. As such, Pillar can assume the role that Juan Lagares and Jake Marisnick have had for the Mets in recent seasons -- starting against all left-handed pitchers and occasional righties, while frequently coming off the bench to spell Smith or Nimmo late in games.

Pillar likely takes the Mets out of the running for Jackie Bradley Jr., a dynamic defensive center fielder who is said to be seeking a multi-year contract. The Mets targeted George Springer earlier this offseason as a big-ticket option, but they finished second in the bidding to the Blue Jays. The Mets then pivoted to Almora and Pillar, acquiring both on cheaper deals.

In theory, that leaves them available funds to continue their pursuit of starting pitchers. With days to go until the official start of Spring Training, the Mets remain linked to two of the top starting pitching options remaining, Jake Odorizzi and Taijuan Walker, as well as ace reliever Trevor Rosenthal. The team still has roughly $20 million in wiggle room before it brushes up against Major League Baseball’s luxury-tax threshold, according to salary data compiled by Spotrac.

Let's block ads! (Why?)



"with" - Google News
February 16, 2021 at 09:31AM
https://ift.tt/3rZSdDY

Pillar agrees to 1-year deal with Mets (source) - MLB.com
"with" - Google News
https://ift.tt/3d5QSDO
https://ift.tt/2ycZSIP

Bagikan Berita Ini

Related Posts :

0 Response to "Pillar agrees to 1-year deal with Mets (source) - MLB.com"

Post a Comment


Powered by Blogger.