Angels Outfielder Undergoes Offseason Surgery, Posts Update

Maren Angus-Coombs | Oct 18, 2024

Jul 28, 2024; Anaheim, California, USA; Los Angeles Angels left fielder Taylor Ward (3) and center fielder Kevin Pillar (12) and right fielder Jo Adell (7) celebrate a victory after defeating the Oakland Athletics 8-6 at Angel Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kiyoshi Mio-Imagn Images / Kiyoshi Mio-Imagn Images

Kevin Pillar consistently said throughout this season that he was leaning towards retirement but he has never fully shut the door on returning.

With a social media post on Tuesday, the veteran outfielder might be eyeing another year on the diamond.

Pillar post a picture of himself after undergoing a successful procedure on his thumb.

"Successful thumb surgery this morning," he wrote. "Big thanks to Dr. Shin."

Successful thumb surgery this morning.
Big thanks to Dr Shin pic.twitter.com/aaUbMvtXSf

— Kevin Pillar (@KPILLAR4) October 16, 2024

Pillar treated the Los Angeles Angels' season finale as his final game. His wife, kids and parents were all in attendance just in case.

“Do I still believe I could play this game? Do I think I could go into the offseason and become a better version of myself, even at 35? Absolutely,” Pillar told Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register. “But I feel like I would be doing myself a disservice if I didn’t at least understand this could potentially be the last one, and enjoy the moment.”

Pillar reach a major career milestone earlier this season when he reached 10 years of major league service and was enjoying a career resurgence and quickly became a favorite in the clubhouse and with the fans. He fell into a slump late in the season finishing with a .229 batting average and .668 OPS.

Pillar rode home from the regular season finale with his father. They reminisced about his playing career from Chaminade High in West Hills to Cal State Dominguez Hills to 13 years as a professional with nine organizations.

“I don’t know if it’s the end,” Pillar said, “but if it’s the end, we were just talking about, did I ever think I was gonna get here? No. Did I accomplish more than I ever thought I would accomplish? Absolutely.”

The decision Pillar is facing isn't easy to make. He hears from his family a lot and they will have some type of influence on what the future holds.

“It changes all the time,” he said. “Obviously when my wife has some tough days at home by herself with the kids, she really looks forward to the days of me being home and being able to co-parent our kids full time. When I’m on road trips for four to eight days, my kids start to miss me and sometimes cry and wish I was home.

“And then there’s days like the last couple days, where I go to the field and my kids are super excited to come and watch me play and go to the family room and kind of enjoy all the perks of playing.”