Mets' Updated Lineup, Depth Chart After Kevin Pillar's Reported Contract

The New York Mets reportedly added depth to their outfield Monday.

According to Andy Martino of SNY, the National League East team agreed to a deal with veteran Kevin Pillar. Pillar likely won't be a regular in center field with Brandon Nimmo already on the roster, but he will surely see time as a defensive replacement with Albert Almora Jr. and even receive the occasional start.

Joel Sherman of the New York Post suggested Pillar could spell left fielder Dominic Smith or even start against southpaws because he slashed .298/.332/.538 against them over the last two seasons.

Here is a projected lineup and depth chart for the Mets following this move, per FanGraphs:

Lineup

• CF Brandon Nimmo
• 2B Jeff McNeil
• SS Francisco Lindor
• RF Michael Conforto
• 1B Pete Alonso
• LF Dominic Smith
• 3B J.D. Davis
• C James McCann

Bench

• C Tomas Nido
• INF Luis Guillorme
• INF/OF Jonathan Villar
• OF Albert Almora Jr.
• OF Kevin Pillar

Pillar has been in the major leagues since the 2013 campaign and has played for the Toronto Blue Jays, San Francisco Giants, Boston Red Sox and Colorado Rockies.

He split the shortened 2020 season with the Red Sox and Rockies and slashed .288/.336/.462 with six home runs, 26 RBI and five stolen bases. He hit a career-best 21 home runs during the 2019 season, which marked his third straight year with double-digit long balls.

If he can provide power like that, this will be an under-the-radar addition for a team looking to win the World Series following the additions of Francisco Lindor and Carlos Carrasco to an already solid roster.

Pillar is best known for his defense.

According to FanGraphs, he has 56 defensive runs saved in his career. However, that number was minus-two in 2020 and minus-four in both 2018 and 2019, so his best fielding days may be in the rearview mirror.

Look for Pillar to be more of a late-inning substitute than anything else.