It looks like a key Atlanta Braves player won’t be back with the team in 2024. Kevin Pillar went to X (formerly known as Twitter) on Sunday to post an emotional message to Braves fans. He wrote that it was an “honor” to play for the Braves in 2023 and will miss “showing up at Truist [Park] in front of y’all!”
Pillar, 34, joined the Braves in January by signing a one-year split contract. He started in the Minor Leagues but made the Opening Day roster. Pillar played in 81 of the team’s 162 games and hit nine home runs with 32 RBIs and an OPS of .664. He was the backup left fielder for Eddie Rosario but started two of the Braves’ four postseason games, both against the Philadelphia Phillies.
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Pillar began his MLB career in 2013 and was a member of the Toronto Blue Jays for six seasons. At the start of the 2019 season, Pillar was traded to the San Francisco Giants and had the best season of his career, hitting 21 home runs with 88 RBIs and an OPS of .798. Pillar also spent time with the Boston Red Sox, Colorado Rockies, New York Mets, and Los Angeles Dodgers before joining the Braves.
In May, Pillar hit his 100th home run of his career, to help the Braves beat the Orioles 5-4. “I know a hundred is insignificant to a lot of people,” Pillar said at the time, per MLB.com. “You think about the greats and how many home runs they have hit. But for a kid who was drafted in the 32nd round who never thought he would be in the big leagues 10 years later, a hundred —you know I’ve never been a big home run guy — maybe speaks to some consistency.”
Pillar was one of the many Braves players who struggled in the National League Divisional Series (NLDS) against the Philadelphia Phillies as he didn’t record a hit in five at-bats. The Braves had the best offense and overall record in MLB but lost to the Phillies 3-1 in the NLDS. It’s the second consecutive season the Braves fell to the Phillies in the second round of the playoffs.
“This year was a phenomenal year for our club,” Braves manager Snitker said, per MLB.com. “It didn’t end the way we wanted, but it doesn’t always do that in this game.”
