Monday, April 07

CINCINNATI -- During Kevin Pillar’s brief retirement, he acquired a number of animals, including about 50 chickens and six llamas named Vanilla, Cinnamon, Bluey, Oreo, Molly and Betty White for his new property in Denton County.

It was fun, being on his new property for a bit, hanging with his wife and kids. But he still felt like he wasn’t completely done with baseball. When the Rangers signed him to a Minor League deal a few weeks into camp, Pillar felt like he had a second chance. Maybe his last chance.

Pillar, at age 36, ultimately made the Rangers’ Opening Day roster, saying that he never allowed himself to even think of the alternative.

For Pillar, this felt like a good step towards validating the thought that he’s not completely done playing baseball just yet.

“Going into this situation, there was no guarantee,” Pillar said. “To end up in this chair, you've got to earn it. I think there is some validation. It's definitely a good start, but now the real season starts. Now it's just about building off the things that I was able to do in spring. I felt like I found a lot of things in my game that maybe I've been searching for over the last couple of years.”

Manager Bruce Bochy said the days before Opening Day are some of the worst in the job, because he has to tell guys they won’t be breaking camp with the big league club.

But they can also be some of the best days when he gets to inform guys that they’ve made it.

“He said to himself, ‘Hey, I'm not done, I have a lot of baseball left,’” Bochy said. “I swear it looks like it. … As much time as he has in the Major Leagues, he was pretty excited, pretty fired up. That's why he's still playing. He has such a passion for the game. He came in camp, he knew he was probably a little bit of a long shot non-roster [invite]. And [he] earned his way on this club, and I'm not surprised about how well he played. That's why he got to start on Opening Day. He did a nice job.”

Pillar split the 2024 season between the White Sox and Angels, hitting .229 with eight home runs, 45 RBIs and a .668 OPS in 100 games. He made starts in center field (39), left field (15) and right field (13), though he will likely play mostly center field for the Rangers as Bochy platoons him and Leody Taveras to start the season.

Pillar slashed .310/.352/.500 against left-handed pitching in 2024.

But Pillar also noted that playing for a team like the Rangers -- a club he fully expects to be in contention in the American League West and the AL as a whole -- is very different from being in the lineup for two last-place teams like he was last season.

“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.”

“I think Boch is so much of what’s good in our game. I’ve always felt that way and I’m certainly not in the minority. Boch is Boch. I don’t need to be comparing myself to him. He’s one of a kind.” -- Guardians manager Terry Francona on Bochy

“I didn't give him any advice [on coming out of retirement], but I'm not surprised. I went through it. You miss it. You miss the game. You miss everything about it, just talking to you guys. You just get bored. There's only so much golf you can do.” -- Bochy on Francona

The Texas Rangers Baseball Foundation will host its fifth annual TEX Gala at Globe Life Field on Thursday. Proceeds from the event will benefit the Rangers Foundation and its mission to improve the lives of many in the North Texas community.

Last year’s fourth annual TEX Gala raised $2.8 million for the Texas Rangers Baseball Foundation. A combined $8.275 million has been raised since the TEX Gala’s inception in 2021.

Tables and individual seats for the 2025 TEX Gala are still available and can be purchased here. Attendees will have the opportunity to bid on live and silent auction items. This year’s auction packages include, but are not limited to:

• A trip to New York City to see the Rangers take on the New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium

• A VIP Rangers experience at Globe Life Field featuring field access for pregame batting practice and a suite

• A trip to Las Vegas for dinner featuring Pappy Van Winkle bourbon and tickets to a Kenny Chesney concert at the Sphere

• An opportunity to throw out the ceremonial first pitch at a select Rangers home game at Globe Life Field

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