LA Angels Monday News Crash: Vapor Trails

Kevin Pillar staying was a mutual decision, he says. He said if he had asked Perry to be moved so he can play for a contending team, Perry would have done so. Also, he wanted to stay put because of his kids:

Pillar, however, said he “wasn’t surprised” that he wasn’t traded, and he said that was partly because of his own wishes.

“I think it was mutual,” Pillar said on Sunday morning. “I think if it would have fit this organization, long-term, in terms of a player that was being returned in a trade who would have impacted this franchise in the near future, I would have been all for it. I think (the Angels) would have been all for it.

“But weighing the cost of an A-ball player that’s a gamble vs. me continuing to be here for these guys and really doing what I was called to do coming here, it was a bit of a mutual decision.

“At the end of the day, if I really said I wanted to go somewhere else, I think they would have been accommodating to that. But I’m enjoying my time here.”

Pillar, who began the season with the Chicago White Sox, also said “a third move this year would have been really challenging for my wife and kids (ages 6 and 4).”

I don’t mind him coming back next year. He seems to be a good presence in the clubhouse and has produced well in a limited role. And God knows we need insurance for Mike Trout. Not just policy, but an actual person. So it’s either him, or Jordyn Adams (assuming Arte goes penny pinching again and won’t go crazy for Soto)