Former Angels Outfielder Cut By AL West Rival

The Texas Rangers designated former Los Angeles Angels outfielder Kevin Pillar for assignment Sunday morning.

The Angels signed Pillar after he elected free agency when the Chicago White Sox designated him for assignment in the 2024 season. He played 83 games for the Halos, hitting seven home runs and driving home 41 runs while slashing .236/.291/.378 with Los Angeles. Pillar had a disappointing season before being designated for assignment, posting an OPS of just .465 with an OPS+ of 34.

After briefly retiring following the his stint with the Angels, Pillar elected to continue playing baseball, and the Rangers gave him a minor league contract for the 2025 season. He made the Opening Day roster, and spoke to MLB.com's Kennedi Landry about his decision to continue playing with the Rangers.

“I wanted to be on a winning team,” Pillar said. “Baseball is already really difficult. It's even more difficult when you feel like the only thing you're really playing for is yourself. You tend to put a lot of unnecessary pressure on performance when you know, ultimately, the outcome is probably going to be a loss.

“You try to control things you control, and a lot of that is your individual performance. When you come into a place like this where the expectation is to win every single day, the focus on you becomes way less. I think for me, that's a perfect place for me to be as I just go out and do my job, be one of nine guys and not be so concerned about what I did, but how I can help this team win a game.”

Pillar has been a defensive asset during his career, and is no stranger to pulling off improbable catches in the outfield.

He had two in the same game with the Angels on July 4, 2024, robbing the Athletics' JJ Bleday of a home run, then stealing extra bases from the center fielder with a diving grab. He has received a Wilson Defensive Player of the Year award and a Fielding Bible award playing center field. His .997 fielding percentage in 2017 paced the American League.

Pillar has also featured in MLB for the Toronto Blue Jays, San Francisco Giants, Boston Red Sox, Colorado Rockies, New York Mets, Los Angeles Dodgers and Atlanta Braves.

For more Angels news, head over to Angels on SI.