Fastball

Chicago White Sox' Castoff Now Making History For Los Angeles Angels

After being designated for assignment by the Chicago White Sox earlier this year, veteran outfielder Kevin Pillar is making history with the Los Angeles Angels.

Brady Farkas

May 13, 2024; Anaheim, California, USA; Los Angeles Angels right fielder Kevin Pillar (12)
May 13, 2024; Anaheim, California, USA; Los Angeles Angels right fielder Kevin Pillar (12) / Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports
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After being designated for assignment by the Chicago White Sox earlier this season, veteran outfielder Kevin Pillar is now making history for the Los Angeles Angels.

Per Matt Birch of the Angels' media team:

With his 8th inning RBI single, Pillar has tied Joe Rudi for the most RBI (12) through his first eight games with the #Angels

Pillar went 2-for-4 with a homer and three RBI on Monday in the Angels 10-5 loss to the St. Louis Cardinals. He's now hitting .280 on the season, even after hitting .160 with the White Sox in 17 games. He's now hitting .400 through the eight games with the Halos.

Given that the Angels have dealt with so many injuries, including to Mike Trout, Pillar should have an opportunity to play every day for a while. If he continues to play well, he could even find himself as a trade candidate later this summer.

Over the 12 years in his career, Pillar has played with the Toronto Blue Jays, San Francisco Giants, Boston Red Sox, Colorado Rockies, New York Mets, Los Angeles Dodgers, Atlanta Braves, White Sox and Angels. He is most notable for his seven-year tenure with the Jays in which he was one of the top defensive outfielders in the league. He started 140 games or more in four consecutive years for Toronto and was part of two ALCS teams North of the Border (2015-2016).

Lifetime, Pillar is a .258 hitter with 110 homers. He's also close to multiple career milestones as he is just seven hits shy of 1,000 and one stolen bases shy of 100.

He had a career-high 21 homers back in 2019. He also had 88 RBI that year and received MVP votes.

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Brady Farkas
BRADY FARKAS

Brady Farkas is a baseball writer for Fastball on Sports Illustrated/FanNation and the host of 'The Payoff Pitch' podcast which can be found on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Videos on baseball also posted to YouTube. Brady has spent nearly a decade in sports talk radio and is a graduate of Oswego State University. You can follow him on Twitter @WDEVRadioBrady. 

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