Bochy breaks down decision to play Duggar in right, Pillar in center pic.twitter.com/HGtEC9PMvq
— KNBR (@KNBR) April 4, 2019
LOS ANGELES – On Tuesday afternoon, Bruce Bochy seemed near certain that Steven Duggar wouldn’t be shifted around the outfield, or lose much playing time with the arrival of a Gold Glove-caliber outfielder in Kevin Pillar (who was a finalist for the award in 2015, 2016 and 2017).
That tune has changed today.
Yesterday, Bochy said he needed talk to Pillar after the game, and would then make a decision on whether to start him on Saturday. But in the abstract, Bochy said he planned to have Pillar, “… play some center and help out at the corners.”
Regardless of his conversation with Pillar, Bochy was confident his rookie center fielder would not be forced to adapt to a corner outfield spot or have his playing time diminished in any significant way.
“I don’t see that (reduced playing time) happening,” Bochy said. “It makes it a little bit easier to give Duggar a rest against certain left-handers, to give him a break, but Duggar’s going to get his playing time. But I think (Pillar) can help out in our ballpark, in the big outfield. To have a couple center fielders is going to be pretty nice.”
Bochy was then asked, “Do you see Duggar moving around at all?”
His response – at the time – left little room for interpretation.
“No,” Bochy said. “I’d like to leave him alone.”
But that was yesterday. Oh, how things change. Today’s lineup features Duggar in right field with Pillar in center. The change was something that Bochy marinated on and talked to both Pillar and Duggar about. It’s also something Duggar said he’s excited for and which is not too much of a jolt for him. Duggar last played right field in 2017, with the Single-A+ San Jose Giants.
“It’ll be a lot of fun to have an opportunity to gel with Kev,” Duggar said. “I think there will be times where I’m in center and he’s in right and vice versa… Again, I’m excited for the opportunity. I think if a ball drops out there, then it was meant to be a hit.”
Bochy said he changed his mind after his discussion with Pillar and considering the fact that Duggar had played right field more recently than Pillar.
“He’s going to get some time in center field,” Bochy said. “We thought about it for a while after the game and then I talked to Kevin about it. It’s been awhile since he’s played at the corners, whereas Duggar, he’s got quite a few games in the more recent past, going back to 15′, 16′ and 17′, so I just think that transition is a little easier for Duggar off the bat. But it’s great to have two center fielders out there. They’re both good with doing whatever, but we think it’s the best way to go.”
The skipper said the tentative plan would be to give Pillar the lion’s share of playing time in center with Duggar in right. He did, however, leave the door open for that to switch, and confirmed that Duggar will still get time in center field, although that time is clearly expected to be less than it was when Bochy addressed the media yesterday.
“They’re both going to play center,” Bochy said. “When Kevin gets a day off, you’ll see Duggar there, but right now, it’s planning on looking like Pillar in center field. But we’ll keep our flexibility. If we want to switch and put Kevin in right field, that could happen.”
Bochy says the plan is for Pillar to spend most of his time in center with Duggar in right pic.twitter.com/eCDDG5IxTR
— KNBR (@KNBR) April 4, 2019
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