The Atlanta Braves need an outfielder after Ronald Acuña Jr.’s injury, and Mike Trout’s replacement Kevin Pillar makes a lot of sense.
The Atlanta Braves may sound content with their starting outfield of Adam Duvall, Michael Harris II and Jarred Kelenic, but something is amiss in the ATL. Ronald Acuña Jr.’s season-ending knee injury was the second serious setback for the Braves as they chase their second World Series ring this decade. The first was Spencer Strider’s injury, as the Atlanta ace is out for the year after undergoing Tommy John surgery.
This makes Alex Anthopoulos’s trade deadline plans all the more important. Atlanta’s rotation has been able to answer the call without Strider so far. Max Fried is pitching like an ace. Reynaldo Lopez and Chris Sale are borderline All-Stars. Several young prospects in the system could be next to try their hand at the No. 5 starter spot, such as AJ Smith-Shawver and Hurtston Waldrep. Things could be worse.
In the outfield, though, a position of depth has turned into one of little resources. Behind a reasonable starting outfield of Duvall, Harris II and Kelenic, the Braves feature JP Martinez, Brian Anderson and Marcell Ozuna, who should not be pitching in defensively on a contending team. They need more, and fast.
Could the Braves trade for Mike Trout’s replacement, Kevin Pillar?
In early April, there was some chatter about the Braves as a plausible landing spot for Mike Trout should the Angels struggle this season. One of those things came to fruition, as the Angels will not make the playoffs. Trout, unfortunately, is injured, so a trade doesn’t do the Braves much good at this juncture.
Yeah, no thanks. The deal made sense for Trout at the time, but no longer. But Trout’s replacement might be the perfect target for Anthopoulos.
Pillar makes a lot of sense on paper, though there is a reason he didn’t work the first time around in Atlanta. The aging outfielder mentioned that he had interest in returning to the Braves this offseason, but there wasn’t much room on the roster for him.
“There was definitely interest there. This was after some of the moves they had made in the offseason, getting (outfielder Jarred) Kelenic. He’s always been honest with me and told me (Kelenic) was gonna get every opportunity to go out there and play – righty, lefty – and that I would just be an extra outfielder, which at this point in my career, I would’ve been more than happy doing, understanding that things happen in this game, things change, everyone goes in with a plan and sometimes those plans change,” Pillar said, per the AJC.
In 23 games this season, Pillar is slashing .368/.407/.632. Now that Kelenic is established as the starting corner outfielder, Pillar could slide in behind him, or as a depth/platoon option with Adam Duvall in left.
Pillar is raking in Anaheim, and playing good defense to boot. He’s slowed a step, but Pillar was always a solid defensive outfielder. If he can continue to hit at such a consistent clip, the Angels should flip him while he’s hot.
