Pillar shelves retirement plan, signs Minors deal with Rangers

SURPRISE, Ariz. -- Kevin Pillar said at the end of the 2024 season that he was 98% sure he was going to retire.

He moved from the Phoenix area to Argyle, Texas -- a city in Denton County just north of Dallas -- and got a few new hobbies, including buying about 50 chickens and six llamas for his new property. His kids -- a 7-year-old daughter and 5-year-old son -- enjoyed having dad home full time for a bit.

Despite all of that, a big part of him kept thinking about wanting to play baseball. And after offseason thumb surgery, he felt like he could still do it at a high level.

“Going through that process, rehabbing, being cleared and then starting to hit again, you start getting the itch again,” Pillar said. “You start to realize, 'I really do enjoy doing this. I like playing baseball.' A lot of my talk of retiring last year came from being released early in the year. Then you're not sure you're gonna get a chance to play again. When you get a chance, you start thinking about the reality that not everyone gets to kind of choose when their career is over.”

He talked with his family and some friends who had retired. He really did think it was going to be the end of his career. But around the time of the Winter Meetings in Dallas, he decided to tell his agent he was all in.

Rangers president of baseball operations Chris Young said the club immediately reached out to his agent, noting that Pillar was a player they had been interested in for a while. Texas signed Pillar to a Minor League deal with an invite to Major League Spring Training that the team announced on Sunday.

“I know I said I was gonna retire, but I'm entitled to take that back,” Pillar said. “I’ve played this game for so long, I accomplished a lot of things in my career that I wanted to accomplish. I still had a bad taste in my mouth the way my individual season ended last year. … Sometimes you don't always get to choose your destiny in this game, and I ended up in the right place.”

Pillar split the 2024 season between the White Sox and Angels, hitting .229 with eight home runs, 45 RBIs and a .667 OPS in 100 games. He made starts in center field (39), left field (15), right field (13) and designated hitter, registering minus-1 Outs Above Average with above-average arm strength.

He slashed .310/.352/.500 against left-handed pitching in 2024, which is notable for the Rangers because both center fielders Evan Carter and Leody Taveras struggled against lefties last season.

“He's a really, really talented player that's a good right-handed bat who plays all three outfield positions,” said manager Bruce Bochy. “I had Kevin [in San Francisco in 2019]. I mean, he's a great teammate, plays full throttle, which is what you love about him. He'll be here competing for a job. I’ve been there [retiring and coming back]. This is what he loves to do. Sometimes when you back off, you miss it. It didn't take him long to miss it, and he wanted to get back in.”

Over his 12-year career, Pillar has hit .255/.293/.406 with 114 home runs in 1,214 games between the Blue Jays, Giants, Red Sox, Rockies, Mets, Dodgers, Braves, White Sox and Angels.

While he still enjoys playing the game at 36 years old, he does understand his role on a team. He’s not likely playing every day anymore. He sees himself as a sort of extension of the coaching staff, who can influence the younger players in camp like Wyatt Langford and Carter, whether he makes the Opening Day roster or not.

“I’m not ready to be a coach, that's why I'm still here,” Pillar said. “I still enjoy playing, but I also understand my role on a team. I want to share the things that I've learned, because I played with a lot of great outfielders, and they taught me a lot of things along the way. I've had to learn and adapt. I'm just excited to get out there and see these guys work and help these guys along the way.”