Former Jays outfielder Kevin Pillar hasn’t hit the wall on his playing career yet

When Kevin Pillar first joined the Blue Jays at age 24, everything about his style of play seemed to indicate he would have a short career.

Pillar approached the outfield like he was a wide receiver in the National Football League. Just about every night, the California native was putting his body in harm’s way, doing whatever it took to come up with a highlight-reel catch. The unforgiving artificial surface at Rogers Centre didn’t bother him, neither did the gruelling routine of a 162-game season. When Pillar wasn’t scaling 10-foot walls to steal home runs, he was trying to run through them to take away extra-base hits.

Pillar experienced his fair share of gruesome injuries with the Jays. He tore a ligament in his thumb in 2016 while stealing a base. Two years later, he almost snapped his collarbone in half during a violent collision with Troy Tulowitzki. There were other ailments, too — like a broken hand in 2015 and it was almost a given the borderline reckless style would end his career before the decade was out.

Yet there was Pillar, a former fan favourite in Toronto. taking in the new surroundings Friday of a renovated ballpark he called home for seven years. One of the last men standing from the 2015 and 2016 Jays that made back-to-back appearances in the American League Championship Series, he is still grinding away, now suiting up for the first-place Atlanta Braves at age 34.

“I always had this fear, if I didn’t play, someone else was going to get an opportunity, and I wanted to make sure that I was on the field as much as possible,” Pillar said. “I tried to take care of my body as best I could, but a lot of times I wasn’t feeling great, and I just knew that it was me or the next guy.”

Pillar’s perseverance has put him within striking distance of a significant milestone. If he sticks on the Braves roster through the remainder of the season, he will have more than nine years of major-league service. One more and he becomes eligible for a full pension, something that has been accomplished by fewer than 10 per cent of all big-league players.

With career earnings exceeding $22 million (U.S.), the extra funds might not make or break Pillar’s post-playing career, but six-figure annual payments still make for a nice parting gift. More importantly, it’s further validation for a guy who was never supposed to play at this level, let alone stick around this long.

Pillar was selected by the Jays in the 32nd round of the 2011 draft, a spot so low that it doesn’t exist anymore. Only a handful of players taken below him made it to the big leagues and none stuck around for much more than a cup of coffee. Back then, late picks like that were used to backfill minor-league rosters. It was not where teams found a starting centre-fielder.

“When you saw him play, you really appreciated the competitor that he is, the defender he is, the baserunner he is” said Jays manager John Schneider, who coached Pillar in the minors in 2011. “It’s just a complete baseball player that, yeah, on paper, the skill set might be something you can take late in the draft, but you watch him play every day and he helps you win. It was easy to pull for a guy like that.”

Pillar has eyes on continuing his career beyond this season, but he has also learned to not take anything for granted because of how quickly everything can be taken away. While playing for the Mets in 2021, he was struck in the face by a 94-m.p.h. fastball from Jacob Webb. The incident left Pillar with bruises all over his face, a busted-up nose and multiple orbital fractures. If the ball had struck Pillar a little differently, he could have lost an eye. Instead, 13 days later he was back on the field and hitting a single in his first at-bat.

Then, last year with the Dodgers, Pillar’s shoulder popped out of place twice in the same game and he was diagnosed with another fracture, ending his season in June. Remarkably, those were just the third and fourth times he has been on the injured list in his 11-year career.

“I promised myself coming into this year, if I made the team, I would remove myself from thinking about what’s next,” said Pillar, who entered the weekend batting .270 in 21 games. “I’m finally in a position where I can just go out and enjoy every single day. Baseball was taken away from me last year for the first time, and I didn’t know if I was going to be able to come back from the injury that I had. I’m just thankful to be out here, knowing I can still play at a high level.”

The former Wilson defensive player of the year is no longer an everyday guy, and he wasn’t in Friday’s starting lineup for the Braves. He’s a fourth outfielder but still finding ways to contribute, as evidenced by last week’s two-run pinch-hit homer against the Orioles.

The only players still active in the majors from the Jays’ playoff teams in 2015 and 2016 are Marcus Stroman, Aaron Loup, Ryan Tepera and Pillar. Who would have predicted that? Pillar’s style didn’t give much hope for longevity but, seven years later, he’s still going strong.

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