Angels Outfielder Receives Prestigious Weekly Award from MLB

His second such award of the season.

Darren Yamashita-USA TODAY Sports

After making a "superman"-esque catch to save what would have been a major play for the New York Mets in the top of the first inning, Los Angeles Angels outfielder Kevin Pillar won the Play of the Week award for the week ending Sunday.

Pillar managed to race back toward center field and make an improbable diving catch to secure the ball in his glove and the first out of the game

Kevin Pillar does his best Superman impression to earn the @Chevrolet Electric Play of the Week! pic.twitter.com/VoDW5NXIva

— MLB (@MLB) August 5, 2024

This is the third time Pillar has won the Play of the Week award in his career, and the second time he has done so this season. Pillar also won the award this year on July 8 when he made an over the wall home run-saving catch against the Oakland Athletics. This is now the fourth time an Angel has won the award, after previously doing so in 2019 and 2023.

Pillar has proven to be the Angels' smartest signing this year. The Angels signed the 35-year-old veteran outfielder on April 30, after Mike Trout went down with a torn meniscus that has sidelined him for the majority of the season. The White Sox are paying all but a pro-rated portion of his minimum MLB salary.

Pillar came to Los Angeles and immediately saw much better results than he had in Chicago to begin the year. Pillar was slashing .160/.290/.360 with four hits, one run, one home run, and four RBIs in 17 games. He has done much better since joining the Angels, slashing .293/.335/.473 with 49 hits, 26 runs, six home runs, and 30 RBIs.

The Angels were actually expected to trade Pillar prior to him making this catch after the July 30 MLB Trade Deadline. The Angels did not end up getting a deal done with Pillar — or several of their other top trade candidates including Tyler Anderson, Taylor Ward, and Luis Rengifo. Each of the latter three is under team control for next season, and the Angels might believe they can win in the future.

Pillar has helped the Angels win four of their last five games entering Thursday's doubleheader. Pillar is expected to retire after the season, and if so, has put in a solid final campaign.

After making his MLB debut in 2013 with the Toronto Blue Jays as the team's 32nd-round pick two years earlier, Pillar spent six years with the Blue Jays before he was traded to the San Francisco Giants in 2019. He then played for the Boston Red Sox, Colorado Rockies, Los Angeles Dodgers, and Atlanta Braves before joining the White Sox this offseason.