Player Data: Age: 32 (1/4/1989), B/T: R/R

Primary Stats: 124 G, 347 PA, .231 BA, .277 OBP, .415 SLG, .692 OPS, 75 H, 15 HR, 47 RBI, 11 BB, 81 SO

Advanced Stats: 90 wRC+, 23.3% K%, 3.2% BB%, .261 BABIP, .277 xwOBA, 0.7 fWAR, 0.5 bWAR

2021 Salary: $5 million

Grade: C

2021 Review

Kevin Pillar‘s 2021 season cannot be measured in just numbers. Despite struggling at the plate for a large portion of this season, Pillar ended the year with one of the more inspirational stories of the Mets’ 2021 season. In between posting his lowest OPS+ (88) since 2017, the grit, fight, and heart the outfielder showed in the wake of one of the worst injuries you’ll see on the field gave the team a bit of a spark.

On May 17 in Atlanta, Pillar stepped into the batter’s box in the seventh inning of a 1-0 game. Within a matter of seconds, he went from looking to provide the Mets insurance runs to laying face-down on the dirt surrounding home plate. A fastball that slipped away from Braves pitcher Jacob Webb struck Pillar directly on his nose, sending him to the ground and the Mets trainers and medical staff rushing onto the field.

Blood was clearly visible on Pillar’s face, enough so that before play could resume again, the grounds crew had to tend to the dirt as it was drenched in blood.

But what happened next is a testament to the person that Kevin is. Within no more than a minute or so, Pillar was on his feet, walking on his own, and headed toward the Mets dugout. Simply put, this was remarkable and goes far beyond baseball. He literally brought meaning to the phrase “when you get knocked back two steps, move forward three.”

The following day, Pillar handed the Mets’ lineup card to the umpires in Atlanta. Soon, he underwent nasal surgery to repair the fractures to his nose. With a bruised face that looked straight out of a boxing match, Pillar spoke to reporters just a day after suffering the injury. By May 31, Pillar was back on the Mets’ active roster. In his lone plate appearance of the day, he singled.

Given the circumstances, Pillar’s comeback is one of the most inspirational stories of the entire baseball season.

On the field, he provided two of the more exciting moments for the Mets all year. On July 19 in Cincinnati, Pillar did not enter the ballgame until the ninth inning. Batting in the 11th with the Mets clinging to a narrow 11-10 lead in a back-and-forth contest, Pillar sent a three-run home run into the left-field seats to put the game away in an eventual 15-11 victory.

Almost exactly a month later, on August 18 in San Francisco, Pillar once again provided extra-inning heroics. He put the Mets ahead for good with another three-run homer in the 12th inning – this time when the game was tied – to give the Mets the lead in a game they’d go on to win 6-2. The icing on the cake here is that Pillar was facing his former team.

His resume included a pair of multi-home run games, against the Orioles and Nationals, respectively. While he didn’t homer a ton, he had a knack for hitting the long ball when the Mets needed one.

Now, it’s time for a bit of a reality check after these encouraging and inspiring moments. Pillar posted a batting average under .200 in three separate months this year. In June, he collected 89 at-bats and recorded just 17 hits. But over 33% of those hits went for home runs, including hitting homers in back-to-back games in late June against the Phillies.

Defensively, Pillar seems long gone from his days as a top-tier outfielder with the Toronto Blue Jays. This year with the Mets, he actually brought a negative value in terms of Defensive Runs Saved. However, he did play at least 20 games in all three outfield spots, including more than 50 in both center field and left field. His versatility alone was resourceful to a team that had plenty of injuries to their outfield depth this season.

The inconsistency of Pillar to really ever get on a hot streak in 2021 this year ultimately hurt his basic hitting stats and cast a shadow over his effectiveness throughout 2021. Yet his timely power and above all, his sheer heart as a baseball player after such a gruesome injury, plays a large role in his final C grade. Winning means a ton, statistics mean a great deal, but those intangibles that are not quantifiable often mean the most. Kevin Pillar energized this team by the way he handled himself after that one pitch in May.

When I mentioned that Pillar exemplifies heart, it’s not just myself who noticed this. Pillar was voted as the Mets’ winner for the 2021 Heart and Hustle Award, given to one player per team in MLB. The award “is presented to the player who shows an overall passion for both the game of baseball and for the player that best embodies the values, spirit, and tradition of the game both on and off the field.”

2022 Outlook

With an option for 2022, Pillar’s future with the Mets is currently unclear, but New York would be very smart to bring him back, even if for a prominent role off the bench. The way in which he plays the game, not to mention his occasional power, is something a hopeful contender could absolutely need, especially as additional depth. If this is the end of his tenure with the Mets, though, I can definitely see him picking up a full-time starter’s job in a less crowded outfield, perhaps for a team that is not necessarily going to be a contender in 2022.

But I’ll reinforce my point; if Pillar is not with the Mets next year, I truly do believe that his absence will be noticed within the organization.