Former Dodgers Outfielder Foregoes Retirement, Joins AL West Club

Mar 24, 2022; Salt River Pima-Maricopa, Arizona, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers left fielder AJ Pollock (11) celebrates with right fielder Kevin Pillar (37) after hitting a solo home run in the third inning against the Colorado Rockies during spring training at Salt River Fields at Talking Stick. Mandatory Credit: Matt Kartozian-Imagn Images | Matt Kartozian-Imagn Images

Outfielder Kevin Pillar spent the 2022 season with the Los Angeles Dodgers, but struggled mightily. Pillar recorded a .083 batting average across four games in the majors with the Dodgers.

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However, Pillar flourished in the minors during the 2022 campaign, averaging .315 and hitting 10 home runs. After spending one season with the Dodgers organization, he elected free agency.

Pillar most recently spent time playing for another Southern California team, the Los Angeles Angels. After the 2024 season, he returned to the free agent market.

On Sunday, the Texas Rangers announced the team signed Pillar to a minor-league deal with an invite to spring training. The veteran outfielder underwent thumb surgery this offseason, and discovered he still had the desire to play baseball at the highest level.

“Going through that process, rehabbing, being cleared and then starting to hit again, you start getting the itch again,” Pillar said, via MLB.com's Kennedi Landry. “You start to realize, 'I really do enjoy doing this. I like playing baseball.' A lot of my talk of retiring last year came from being released early in the year. Then you're not sure you're gonna get a chance to play again. When you get a chance, you start thinking about the reality that not everyone gets to kind of choose when their career is over.”

Pillar originally planned to retire following the 2024 campaign, but had since decided he wasn't ready to hang up his cleats after all. The outfielder split the year between the Chicago White Sox and Angels, recording a .229 batting average, 45 RBIs, and a .667 OPS.

“I know I said I was gonna retire, but I'm entitled to take that back,” Pillar said. “I’ve played this game for so long, I accomplished a lot of things in my career that I wanted to accomplish. I still had a bad taste in my mouth the way my individual season ended last year. … Sometimes you don't always get to choose your destiny in this game, and I ended up in the right place.”

Throughout Pillar's 12-year career, the outfielder has slashed 255/.293/.406 with 114 home runs in 1,214 games between the Toronto Blue Jays, San Francisco Giants, Boston Red Sox, Colorado Rockies, New York Mets, Dodgers, Atlanta Braves, White Sox and Angels.

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