Best value signing of the MLB offseason may have been Braves’ minor league deal
By Josh Wilson
The Atlanta Braves have gotten incredible value in 2023 out of a player originally signed to a minor league contract.
In January, the Atlanta Braves took a flier on Kevin Pillar, signing him to a minor league deal that would pay him $3 million if he made the big-league team.
At the time, it looked like it would probably wind up being insignificant in the grand scheme of things, but Pillar has quickly made that signing look prescient and necessary for Atlanta’s National League-leading success.
Ultimately, Pillar made the team after spring training, earning his $3 million salary. With Michael Harris III missing plenty of time due to injury, Pillar has had to step up, and has done a commendable job on the diamond doing so.
Kevin Pillar one of the best dollar-for-dollar signings this offseason
Pillar is swinging with the best of the team. When considering raw slugging percentage, he ranks seventh, but if you look at stolen bases plus total bases as a percentage of plate appearances, here’s how the top five shakes out for the Braves:
- Ronald Acuna: .581
- Ozzie Albies: .535
- Murphy: .504
- Hilliard: .500
- Kevin Pillar: .470
He’s also been incredibly clutch. In at-bats that are categorized by FanGraphs as “medium” or “high” leverage, he has the team’s second-best slugging percentage only to Acuna. League-wide, he’s 26th among players with 25 or more plate appearances, falling just behind players like Mike Trout, Giancarlo Stanton, and Anthony Santander.
When you consider that his $3 million salary is one of the lowest on the team, this all looks even sweeter.
The Braves aren’t cheaping out by any means with the eighth-highest payroll in the league, but they’re also not spending just for the sake of spending. They’re far away from the likes of the Mets, who spent $250 million on this year’s team and currently sit six games back from Atlanta.
Sports management is all about finding talent at an efficient rate, and Pillar is shaping up to be one of the very best performances for the amount he costs.
Juxtaposed with all of this is the blemish that Atlanta is paying Marcell Ozuna $16 million, but he’s been doing his job in May, so maybe we can even look past that for now.
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