Kevin Pillar Traded to Giants from Blue Jays for Alen Hanson, Derek Law, More
The Toronto Blue Jays announced Tuesday they traded outfielder Kevin Pillar to the San Francisco Giants for infielder Alen Hanson and pitchers Derek Law and Juan De Paula.
MLB Network's Jon Heyman added the Blue Jays are in "trade mode" in order to make room for outfield prospect Anthony Alford on the major league roster.
The 30-year-old Pillar has spent his entire six-year MLB career with the Blue Jays, but he fills a significant area of need in San Francisco.
Toronto has already been active on the trade market this season, as it dealt designated hitter Kendrys Morales to the Oakland Athletics last week.
Through five games this season, Pillar is hitting .063 with one RBI and one run scored. While he is off to a slow start, he was fairly productive last season with a .252 batting average, 15 home runs, 59 RBI and 14 stolen bases.
In the two seasons prior to 2019, Pillar averaged nearly 16 homers and 15 stolen bases, which gives him a rare power-speed combination that few other players possess.
Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet put Pillar's time in Toronto into perspective:
Pillar has primarily been a center fielder during his career, but he is versatile enough to play left or right as well. In San Francisco, Pillar will likely start in center over the inexperienced Steven Duggar.
The Giants have one of the least-accomplished outfields in Major League Baseball with Duggar, Connor Joe and Gerardo Parra as the starters. Yangervis Solarte and Michael Reed back them up.
Pillar will immediately become San Francisco's top all-around outfielder, and he also gives manager Bruce Bochy a leadoff option atop the batting order.
By trading Pillar, the Blue Jays can now call up Alford, who hit .105 with one RBI and one stolen base in 13 games with Toronto last season. In Triple-A, the 24-year-old hit .240 with five home runs, 34 RBI and 17 steals.
Per Baseball Reference, Alford was ranked among the top 60 prospects in baseball prior to the 2018 season by Baseball Prospectus, Baseball America and MLB.com.
Alford figures to become Toronto's everyday center fielder with Randal Grichuk and Teoscar Hernandez on the corners and Billy McKinney serving in a backup role.
In exchange for Pillar, the Blue Jays received what could be a fruitful package of players from the Giants. Hanson is the highlight, as he appeared in 110 games for the Giants last season, hitting .252 with eight homers, 39 RBI and seven steals. The 26-year-old can play second base, shortstop, third base and the outfield.
Law, 28, has 109 games of Major League experience over three seasons as a reliever. He posted a 7.43 ERA in seven games last season, but overall, he is 9-3 with a 3.83 ERA.
The 21-year-old De Paula has the most upside, as he went 2-3 with a 1.72 ERA and 55 strikeouts in 52.1 innings over 11 appearances and 10 starts in Single-A last season.
Toronto is going young, and with a group of prospects that includes Alford, third baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and shortstop Bo Bichette coming up through the ranks, parting ways with a veteran like Pillar made sense.
Meanwhile, the Giants have one final opportunity to make a playoff run before Bochy retires at the end of the season, and Pillar gives them a much-needed veteran presence in the outfield.
