Jays trade Kevin Pillar to the Giants

Just five games into the season, the Blue Jays have sent CF Kevin Pillar to the San Fransisco Giants in exchange for three players.

The three players will be pitching prospect Juan DePaula, infielder Alen Hanson and pitcher Derek Law.

Hanson most likely will join the team in Toronto, the three-year major leaguer has appeared in a total of 243 games with the Giants, White Sox and Pirates. During that span, he slashed .238/.269/.384. But more importantly, in 110 games with the Giants last season hit .252 with a .699 OPS.

Another player that might, or might not, be with the Jays is pitcher Derek Law. The 28-year-old has pitched a total of 105.2 innings with the Giants over three years — posting a 3.83 ERA with a 1.287 WHIP.

The youngest player involved in the trade, 21-year-old Juan De Paula, most recently played in single-A and low-A in 2018. In 52.1 innings across the two leagues, he had an ERA of 1.72 and a strikeout rate of 9.5 per nine innings.

Rumours swirled earlier before the Jays sent Kendrys Morales to the Oakland A’s, but the two teams resurfaced their talks earlier today and finished the trade Tuesday morning.

One key aspect is that after the Rowdy Tellez/Anthony Alford confusion around opening day, Alford stuck around in Toronto which might mean he’ll be added to the roster soon. But with the addition of Hanson, Alford’s luck might have run out as well.

Pillar played a total of 695 games with the Jays, finishing with a .260/.297/.396 slash line.

Another signal of an increasingly larger rebuild, the trade of the Jays’ current longest-tenured player and fan favourite will be eligible for free agency after the 2020 season.