Toronto Blue Jays Minor leagues Pillar was drafted by the
Toronto Blue Jays in the 32nd round (979th overall) of the
2011 Major League Baseball draft. His
signing bonus of $1,000 was so little, after taxes, that he needed to ask his mom for some additional money so that he could have enough to buy an iPhone. When he was promoted to the majors two years later, Blue Jays general manager
Alex Anthopoulos said: "Clearly ... and I say that respectfully, we got him wrong. Just because, if he has a chance to get to the big leagues, you don't wait for the [32nd] round to select him." He was also 4th in the league in hits (82), and 6th in slugging percentage (.534). He was named an Appalachian League All Star. He holds the team's all-time records for batting average, on-base percentage (.377), and slugging percentage. He was then called up to play for the
Vancouver Canadians in its playoff run, and batted .391 to help the team win the
Northwest League title. He was then promoted to the Advanced-A
Dunedin Blue Jays, where he batted .323 and stole 16 bases (while being caught 3 times) in 42 games. Considered an excellent defensive player, he played all three outfield positions. He was also named a Topps Class A All Star and an MiLB.com Organization All Star. Pillar was promoted to the Double-A
New Hampshire Fisher Cats before the start of the 2013 minor league season. He played 71 games for the team, and made 12 outfield assists. He was considered one of the most consistent hitters and defenders in the Eastern League, "with great instincts, a powerful and accurate throwing arm," and showed speed on the base paths. He batted .313 (3rd in the league) with 5 home runs and 30 RBIs, and was leading the
Eastern League with 95 hits, before he was promoted to the Triple-A
Buffalo Bisons. Through his first 11 games, Pillar batted .391 and had more doubles (8) than singles (7). During his time in Buffalo he had more extra-base hits (27) than any other player in AAA over that timespan. In 123 games between New Hampshire and Buffalo, he had 39 doubles and 155 hits which, at the time of his August 2013 promotion, were the second- and third-highest totals, respectively, in the minor leagues. Buffalo manager
Marty Brown said: "I am impressed with how he has swung the bat, for sure. But he also always seems to be in the right place at the right time defensively. He's a very heads-up baserunner." Pillar was ranked the 16th-best prospect in the Blue Jays organization by MLB.com in July 2013.
Baseball America ranked him as the team's 12th-best prospect. In 2014 with the Bisons he batted .323 (3rd in the league) in 100 games (missing 35 games during his two call-ups to the majors), leading the International League in doubles (39; second-most in the Bisons' modern era to
Jhonny Peralta's 44 in 2004), 3rd in extra-base hits (52), and 5th in slugging percentage (.509) and stolen bases (27), with 10 home runs and 59 RBIs. Pillar had both a 21-game hitting streak (the longest in the league for the season) and an 18-game hitting streak, making him the first player in Buffalo's modern era to put together two hitting streaks of 18 games or more.
Major leagues 2013 Pillar was called up to the Blue Jays for the first time in his career on August 14, 2013, after center fielder
Colby Rasmus was placed on the 15-day
disabled list and utility player
Emilio Bonifacio was traded to the
Kansas City Royals. He was the first member of Toronto's 2011 draft to reach the majors, and as of April 2015, was the lowest selection of his major league draft class to get to the majors. General manager
Alex Anthopoulos stated that, at the time of his call-up, he considered Pillar a "legit center option". He was 0-for-4 with one strikeout, and made a diving catch in the outfield in the Blue Jays' 4–3 extra innings win. Pillar recorded his first career hit and RBI in a doubleheader against the
New York Yankees on August 20. On August 24, Pillar hit his first career home run, a three-run shot off
Houston Astros starter
Brad Peacock.
2014 In 2014, after starting the season with the Blue Jays, Pillar was optioned to the Buffalo Bisons on March 22. He was called up to the Blue Jays on May 13, after
Jonathan Diaz was optioned to Triple-A. Pillar had reached base safely in a league-high 26 straight games with Buffalo, and posted a triple slash of .305/.344/.461 in 34 games, while leading the league in doubles and leading Triple-A with an 18-game hitting streak. On June 9, Pillar hit a walk-off single, scoring
Erik Kratz to give the Blue Jays a 5–4 win over the
Minnesota Twins. On June 24 he was sent back down to Buffalo for throwing his bat after manager
John Gibbons removed him for pinch hitter
Anthony Gose. He was recalled on August 26 when
Nolan Reimold was designated for assignment.
2015 In the 2015 offseason, the Blue Jays acquired
Michael Saunders from the
Seattle Mariners, and Pillar was expected to compete for the fourth outfielder role heading into spring training. However, after Saunders tore his
meniscus before the start of spring training Pillar stepped in as the starting left fielder. Pillar made several highlight reel catches throughout the season, including scaling the left field wall to rob
Tim Beckham of a home run on April 15. Blue Jays fans voted it the play of the year and Pillar called the catch a "life-changing moment" that brought him from obscurity to prominence in Toronto and around the league. On June 2, Pillar recorded his first career two-home run game, and became the first right-handed batter to hit two home runs in one game off of
Washington Nationals' ace
Max Scherzer. He was named the Blue Jays Player of the Month for June, as voted on by the Toronto Chapter of the
Baseball Writers' Association of America (BBWAA), for a month in which he batted .365 (4th in the AL) with 5 stolen bases (tied for 7th in the AL) and 18 RBIs (tied for 10th in the AL). On September 28, Pillar was named the
American League Player of the Week for September 21–27. He batted .524 with 2 home runs, 6 RBIs, and 5 stolen bases during that week. Pillar played his first full Major League season in 2015 and set several career-highs. He finished the regular season batting .278 with 12 home runs, 56 RBIs, and 25 stolen bases (5th in the AL), as his 86.21 stolen base percentage was 4th-best in the league. Pillar played in all 5 games of the
2015 American League Division Series against the
Texas Rangers, and batted .333 with one home run and four RBIs. On October 29, Pillar was announced as a finalist for the
Gold Glove award in center field, along with
Kevin Kiermaier and
Mike Trout, with the award eventually going to Kiermaier. On November 11, Pillar was named the 2015
Wilson Defensive Player of the Year for center field.
2016 Pillar opened the season as the Blue Jays' lead-off hitter, but struggled, hitting .188 with no walks through April 16, and was moved down in the order by manager John Gibbons. In early August, Pillar was placed on the disabled list with a left thumb injury incurred while stealing a base; he later underwent offseason surgery to repair a torn thumb ligament. On September 6, Pillar was announced as the Blue Jays' nominee for the
Roberto Clemente Award. Pillar appeared in 146 games for the Blue Jays in 2016, and hit .266 with seven home runs, 53 RBIs, and 14 stolen bases. Pillar struggled with the bat in the postseason, going 3-for-32 at the plate with one home run and two RBIs.
2017 On February 8, 2017, Pillar was announced as the cover athlete for the Canadian version of
R.B.I. Baseball 17. During the offseason, Pillar worked to improve his
plate discipline, with the goal of becoming the lead-off hitter for the Blue Jays. Early in the season, he split time at the lead-off role with
Devon Travis; however, Travis struggled in the role and Pillar became the everyday lead-off hitter in late April. On May 13, Pillar became the American League leader in hits with 47, after a 3-for-4 performance against the Seattle Mariners. The following day, Pillar hit the first
walk-off home run of his career, a solo shot off Mariners closer
Edwin Díaz to give Toronto a 3–2 victory. In the Blue Jays’ 8–4 loss to the
Atlanta Braves on May 17, Braves pitcher
Jason Motte struck out Pillar with a
quick pitch. Pillar then called Motte a
homophobic slur, Motte and Braves catcher
Kurt Suzuki confronted him, and both dugouts rushed onto the field. Following the game, Pillar publicly apologized to Motte. The next day, the Blue Jays held a press conference at which Pillar apologized again, and the team announced that Pillar would be suspended for two games; he was also fined an undisclosed amount by MLB. For the 2017 season, Pillar batted .256/.300/.404 with career-highs in doubles (37) and home runs (16), as he scored 72 runs and stole 15 bases.
2018 On January 12, 2018, Pillar signed a one-year, $3.25 million contract with the Blue Jays, avoiding
salary arbitration. In Toronto's 5–3 victory over the New York Yankees on March 31, Pillar became the first Blue Jay to steal three bases in one inning, when he stole second, third, and home plate in the eighth. It was also the team's first successful straight steal of home since
Aaron Hill did so in 2007. On July 1 he made a wall-leaping home-run-robbing catch that was rated the # 2 defensive play of the year on MLB Network's "Top 100 Plays of 2018". He was placed on the disabled list on July 15 after spraining his right
sternoclavicular joint (where his
collarbone attaches to his chest wall) on a diving catch. Pillar finished the 2018 season leading the team in batting average (.252), doubles (40; a career high), and stolen bases (14), while coming in 10th in the American League in stolen-base percentage (83.25%). In the fall of 2018, Pillar played as an MLB All-Star in the
2018 MLB Japan All-Star Series, batting .333 in 12 at bats. He played five games for the team in 2019 before being traded.
San Francisco Giants (2019) On April 2, 2019, the Blue Jays traded Pillar to the
San Francisco Giants for
Alen Hanson,
Derek Law, and Juan De Paula. Pillar hit his first career
grand slam against the
San Diego Padres on April 8. On May 4, Pillar earned an MLB Play of the Week award catching
Nick Senzel's would-be home run by scaling the center field wall. Pillar assumed the position of everyday center fielder, as
Steven Duggar's continued injury problems forced him into a few stints on the injured list. On August 17, Pillar had a career-high 5 hits against the
Arizona Diamondbacks. For the 2019 season with the Giants, he batted .264/.293/.442 with 37 doubles (8th in the NL), 21 home runs, 87 RBIs, and 6 sacrifice flies (8th) while stealing 14 bases; his 161 games played for the season were 6th in the majors, while his 6.9 at bats per strikeout were 7th. In September, Pillar received the
Willie Mac Award, given to the team's most inspirational player, as voted on by players, coaches, trainers, and fans. In November, Pillar received one vote for 2019
National League Most Valuable Player. San Francisco opted not to tender Pillar a contract on December 2, 2019, making him a
free agent.
Boston Red Sox (2020) On February 14, 2020, Pillar signed a one-year, $4.25 million contract with the
Boston Red Sox. With the Red Sox during the first half of the delayed-start 2020 season, Pillar batted .274 in 117 at bats over 30 games with 20 runs, seven doubles, two triples (3rd in the AL at the time of the trade), four home runs, and 13 RBIs. On defense he played error-less baseball and had two assists from right field (3rd), as he played 24 games in right field, six games in center field, and two games in left field. In 2020 for Colorado, Pillar batted .308/.351/.451 with 2 home runs, 14 runs, and 13 RBIs in 91 at bats. On defense he played almost exclusively center field.
New York Mets (2021) On February 21, 2021, Pillar signed a one-year, $5 million contract with the
New York Mets with player and club options for 2022. The contract guaranteed Pillar $3.6 million in 2021 with a player option worth $2.9 million with no buyout, and a club option worth $6.4 million with a $1.4 million buyout. On May 17, 2021, Pillar was struck in the face by a
fastball thrown by
Atlanta Braves pitcher
Jacob Webb in a game at
Truist Park, with the bases loaded, forcing in a run. Pillar immediately suffered severe bleeding, and was removed from the game. He posted on his Twitter account after the incident: "Thanks to everyone that has reached out! Scary moment but I’m doing fine! #RBI #gamewinner". Pillar suffered "multiple nasal fractures," and was placed on the 10-day
injured list. He was activated from the injured list on May 31, and hit a single in his first plate appearance since the injury. Pillar said that he would wear a protective mask in the field and on the bases for several weeks after returning. After initially wearing a clear mask, he switched to a black mask designed using face-scanning software, which improved his vision. In 2021 with the Mets, Pillar batted .231/.277/.415 with 15 home runs (4th on the Mets) and 47 RBIs in 325 at bats. With runners in scoring position, he batted .300/.352/.588. On defense he played error-less baseball, as he played 57 games in center field, 52 games in left field, 22 games in right field, and pitched in one game (retiring the one batter he faced). He began the season with the AAA
Oklahoma City Dodgers, batting .315/.412/.622 in 127 at bats. Pillar was called up to the majors on May 28. He had one hit (a double) in 12 at bats for the Dodgers. He underwent successful surgery on June 7. He worked his way back post-surgery, and played in six minor league rehab games at the end of September, batting 7-for-22 with a home run and six RBIs. For the 2022 season with Oklahoma City, he batted .315(8th in the Pacific Coast League)/.398/.604(6th) in 149 at bats with 42 runs, 10 home runs, 40 RBIs, 20 walks, and 22 strikeouts, playing primarily center field.
Atlanta Braves (2023) On January 18, 2023, Pillar signed a minor league contract with the
Atlanta Braves organization, with his contract stipulating that he would earn $3 million if he were to be put on the Braves major league roster. On March 30, Pillar had his contract selected by the Braves after making the
Opening Day roster. He hit his 100th career home run in a game against the
Baltimore Orioles on May 5. In 2023, Pillar batted .228/.248/.416 in 197 at bats, with 9 home runs and 32 RBIs, as he stole four bases in five attempts. He was to earn a $3 million base salary if he were put on the team's major league roster. Pillar was released by Chicago on March 22; however, two days later he was re-signed by the team to a major league contract. In 17 games for the White Sox, he went 4–for–25 (.160) with one home run, four RBI, and two stolen bases. On April 26, Pillar was designated for assignment following the promotion of
Tommy Pham. He cleared waivers and was sent outright to the Triple–A
Charlotte Knights on April 28; however, he rejected the assignment and subsequently elected free agency.
Los Angeles Angels (2024) On April 30, 2024, Pillar signed a major league contract with the
Los Angeles Angels following an injury to
Mike Trout. On May 15 against the
St. Louis Cardinals, he recorded his 100th career stolen base. On May 19, while facing the
Texas Rangers in a pinch-hit at bat, Pillar recorded his 1,000th career hit. On July 6, Pillar attained 10 years of major league service time. He also revealed that he would likely retire at the end of the
2024 season. In 2024 for the Angels, Pillar batted .236/.291/.378 with 7 home runs, 37 runs, and 41 RBIs in 259 at-bats. He played 46 games in center field, 19 games in left field, and 12 games in right field.
Texas Rangers (2025) On February 23, 2025, Pillar signed a minor league contract with the
Texas Rangers. On March 26, the Rangers selected Pillar's contract after he made the team's
Opening Day roster. In 20 appearances for Texas in 2025, he batted .209/.209/.256 with one home run, three RBI, and three stolen bases, while primarily playing center field. Pillar was
designated for assignment following the promotion of
Alejandro Osuna on May 25. He was released by the Rangers on May 31. On July 2, 2025, Pillar announced his retirement from professional baseball. ==Honors==