Kevin Pillar Praises Angels And Disses White Sox, 'Where The Priority is Not Winning'

Outfielder Kevin Pillar has had an interesting start to his season. At around 12:30 p.m. on April 30, he was unemployed and playing with his son at their Arizona home. Around five hours later, he was in the Los Angeles Angels' clubhouse with a spot on the roster.

The next day, he was in the starting lineup.

The 35-year-old has played in parts of 12 major league seasons and was released over the weekend by the Chicago White Sox. He returned home to wait and see where he would end up next. Mike Trout tore his meniscus and the Angels called, which sounds like an upgrade to Pillar after spending the first few weeks with one of the league's worst teams.

“Obviously, that organization’s at a little different point than where this organization is at,” Pillar said. “Coming into a place that is excited to win and expected to win. It’s always a place that I want to be. It’s hard being in a place where the priority is not winning, necessarily. It’s kind of development you know, trying to get the organization back on track.

“You put a lot of pressure on yourself to go out, perform every day. But coming into a place where winning is the most important, that’s what you put your value on.”

Pillar is a defensive-minded outfielder who can play all three positions. He excels against lefties and creates an ideal platoon with Mickey Moniak, who struggles against them. Last season, Pillar had a .734 OPS against lefties. This season, he had an .854 OPS in his first 16 plate appearances against lefties.

In his debut for the Angels, he went 1-for-4 with a strikeout. It's unclear how long his opportunity will last, but the Chaminade High and Cal State Dominguez Hills product has a chance to return home to Southern California and play for an organization trying to turn things around — where winning is at the top of the manager's priority list.