Jays have a surplus of outfielders controlled for next season, with Pillar, Pearce, Teoscar, Alford, Dwight Smith Jr, Carrera, plus a possible free agent signing to replace Bautista. There's also Roemon Fields in AAA who may be even better defensively than Pillar. Fields' stock is on the rise after a good season offensively in Buffalo. The Cuban shortstop Lourdes Gurriel can also play the outfield. He was slowed by injuries this year but could surprise in spring training. Then there's still Pompey recovering from injury , although I think the ship sailed on him a while ago.
The free agent class this offseason for center fielders is pretty weak. The big name is Lorenzo Cain, then you have Carlos Gomez who's a big step down from Cain, and then a bunch of 4th outfielder types like Rajai Davis and Cameron Maybin. The pickings will be slim for teams looking to upgrade their CF. Shatkins would be foolish not to at least dangle Pillar's name out there and see what bites.
Pillar's defense, age and low salary make him attractive. The Jays can actually get something of value in return. You're not getting a bag of doritos for Carrera.
Alford’s one of the top outfield prospects in the game, his rise through the minors has been impressive considering he lost 2.5 seasons of development playing college football. He draws walks which is a good sign for a young hitter. I think they prefer he spends another year in AAA but an impressive spring can change things.
Pearce should be in a utility role and not playing everyday in left field. He’s almost as bad as Collabello was out there LOL
