Pillar led the Giants in home runs, RBI, runs scored and stolen bases after being traded from the Blue JaysGETTY MAGES
The MLB Giants' decision not to tender CF Kevin Pillar a contract will "not go over well" with fans, according to Henry Schulman of the S.F. CHRONICLE. Pillar, who led the club last season in home runs, RBI, runs scored and stolen bases, was "projected to earn" about $10M in '20, his final year before reaching free agency. Salary versus production "almost certainly was a factor." But Giants President of Baseball Operations Farhan Zaidi said that the decision to let Pillar, 30, go "was not budgetary." Zaidi said, "We have full ownership support to invest in the major-league roster. This is not a financial decision." The club's determination on Pillar also "follows Zaidi’s dictum that any expensive moves help the Giants" beyond next season (S.F. CHRONICLE, 12/3). In San Jose, Kerry Crowley wrote the Giants' "bold decision" is "certain to disappoint a significant percentage of Giants fans that fell in love with Pillar’s all-gas, no brakes style of play." Zaidi said of Pillar's on-field performance, "Our 2019 season would not have been the same without him." But he added, "We’re trying to build something longer-term and sustainable and he was going to be in the last year of his contract" (San Jose MERCURY NEWS, 12/3).
FUTURE SIGHT: THE ATHLETIC's Andrew Baggarly wrote the decision to non-tender Pillar provides a "referendum on how this now fully operational Zaidi front office" would "value players" with longtime manager Bruce Bochy having departed. The Giants home record this past season (35-46) "matched their worst" in the S.F. era. The team also "plodded through so many games without giving their customers a single reason to cheer." Baggarly: "Shouldn’t they be motivated to bring back the one player who provided most of those reasons to cheer?" The Pillar decision is "part of a long-term bet that Zaidi’s winning formula will work in time," and it "demonstrates ownership’s confidence that any fans who are sloughed off in the short term will return in greater numbers once the franchise starts winning again" (THEATHLETIC.com, 12/2).
NO ADDED OVERSIGHT: New Giants manager Gabe Kapler said regarding front office input in the everyday lineup, "We will not be writing out lineups based on dollar figures." Kapler said the perception when he was Phillies manager "was that the information would be passed down to me and I would just be doing the work of the front office, which turned out to be entirely untrue." Kapler said the thing he wants to "convey here is that I have a history" with Zaidi. Kapler: "I believe Farhan trusts me. I think he trusts my ability to make good in-game decisions. I think he trusts my ability to make good lineup decisions." He added, "I will consider everybody's opinions and value all their opinions, but at the end of the day those decisions have to be mine" ("Giants Splash," SFCHRONICLE.com, 12/2).
