Dodgers News: Kevin Pillar Still Not Giving Up in 2022

Sometimes a baseball article can be like a Marvel movie. The uninitiated get up and leave as soon as the credits roll, while the experts stick around to see the post-credits scene.

But even then, some people think, “Now it’s really over,” and they get up and leave, but you, the expert, know to stick around until the very end, where the stick one last scene that you really need to see if you want to be an expert.

The latest Bill Plunkett article in the Orange County Register is like that. You show up to see what he has to say about Craig Kimbrel and “Let It Go,” and then you stay for the post-credits scene about Danny Duffy and Victor Gonzalez being shut down on their rehab assignments, or maybe even to the part about Tommy Kahnle hopefully returning this week.

But if you stuck around to the very end of the article, you’ll find this unexpected nugget of Dodgers information:

Meanwhile, outfielder Kevin Pillar could start a rehab assignment with OKC later this week, according to Roberts. Pillar underwent surgery in June to repair a fracture in his left shoulder socket and is trying to return before the end of the season.

Pillar, you’ll recall, tore it up in Triple-A this season before finally getting called up to the big club in late May. He played four games, getting 13 plate appearances and posting a slash line of .083/.154/.167, with just a double and a walk to his name.

After that walk, Pillar went to third on a Gavin Lux double and appeared shaken up on the play. He scored on a Freddie Freeman groundout, then left the game with what turned out to be a fractured left shoulder.

It was expected that Pillar would miss the rest of the season, but he’s been working hard in his recovery from surgery and is hoping to play again this year. It’s not clear whether there would be any place for him on the Dodgers roster, although with Chris Taylor (and Mookie Betts) available to play the infield, Los Angeles could use Pillar as a right-handed bench bat instead of Hanser Alberto in the postseason. Unlikely, but possible.

Either way, it’s good to see Pillar battling back.

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