Colorado Rockies: The case for and against re-signing Kevin Pillar

Sep 1, 2020; Denver, Colorado, USA; Colorado Rockies center fielder Kevin Pillar (11) makes a throw from the warning track in the first inning against the San Francisco Giants at Coors Field. Mandatory Credit: Isaiah J. Downing-USA TODAY Sports

Kevin Pillar will be 32 when the 2021 season begins. That’s the same age that Charlie Blackmon moved from center field to right field. If Ian Desmond comes back or if the Rockies were to ink Matt Kemp again, that’s a trio (Kemp/Desmond, Blackmon, and Pillar) of older legs roaming the expanses of Coors Field and taking away chances from 20-somethings Raimel Tapia, Garrett Hampson, and Sam Hilliard to do the same.

Do the Rockies need another aging outfielder who is better in the corners than the center? Absolutely not.

In a year after a pandemic-shortened season where much is unknown as what finances will look like for the Rockies and other teams, Pillar’s contract will not come cheap. A roughly two-year, $9 million deal (if the Rockies were to look at what the Red Sox paid for Pillar for a single year) for an outfielder who is aging and statistically expected to decline at the plate and in the field would seemingly not produce the results that equal the spend.

Another one-year deal might work (especially if there are questions about Dahl or Desmond), but will Pillar want that? It could be a fallback for Pillar after checking other options.

Prediction: Despite the negatives, Pillar comes back to the Rockies on a two-year deal.

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