The Giants have been hot and heavy on Kevin Pillar all offseason, and after literally every metric available has gone ahead and declared that he’s gone from an elite outfielder to just an average one, you have to wonder just exactly what it is that Farhan Zaidi and company see that we don’t; otherwise, this morning’s trade of roster flotsam in exchange for the longest-tenured Blue Jay feels a little bit more Sabean than Zaidi in style.
Back in 2016, Pillar was an elite defender. By FanGraphs’ Defensive Runs Saved — which is by no means sacrosanct, but still very useful — his +21 DRS was second in all of baseball behind Mookie Betts.