New White Sox outfielder Kevin Pillar has a lot to play for this season

TEMPE, Ariz. — As a reserve outfielder for the Braves last summer, Kevin Pillar witnessed teammates Marcell Ozuna and Travis d’Arnaud receive clubhouse celebrations once they reached the 10-year anniversary in service time.

And Pillar, a 32nd-round pick out of Cal State Dominguez Hills in the 2011 draft, would love to reach that achievement with the White Sox.

“I’ve learned a lot about myself over the last couple of years,” said Pillar, who needs 100 more days to reach the 10-year mark. “These [jobs] have been getting harder and harder for me to come by. So for me to be 100 days shy of 10 [years], it motivates me beyond belief to continue to go out there and work hard, give it everything I’ve got.

“I realize I’m on the back nine of my career. I’m laying everything out there, putting all the chips on the table and trying to accomplish this goal this year.”

Reaching the 10-year mark assures players of being fully vested in the Major League Baseball pension plan, and 172 days of service time constitute a major-league season. According to the MLB Players Association, less than 10% reach what has been described as the “Holy Grail” on the MLBPA website.

The Sox are the eighth team Pillar, 35, has played for since 2019. He’s on a minor-league deal, so the Sox would have to clear a spot on their 40-man roster for him. Pillar would earn $3 million if he makes the Opening Day roster — a thrifty sum for a rebuilding team that has made horrendous expensive signings the last four years and can benefit from having a veteran such as Pillar.

Pillar admits that playing on a series of one-year deals throughout his career and being forced to prove his worth has been “physically and mentally exhausting,” which would make reaching the 10-year mark extremely satisfying.

Answers for Andrew

The 2023 season was a mystery of sorts for first baseman Andrew Vaughn, who believes he’ll be more comfortable and productive entering his fourth major-league season.

Vaughn proved to be durable, setting career highs of 152 games, 146 hits, 30 doubles, 21 home runs and 80 RBI while benefitting from playing first base — his natural position — on a full-time basis.

But the right-handed-hitting Vaughn batted only .227 with a .641 OPS against left-handers — a major contrast from 2022, when he batted .307 off lefties.

“The information is available,” Vaughn said of ways to improve. “I take what I need from it, and I don’t get too deep into it.”

Marcus Thames will be Vaughn’s third main hitting coach in as many seasons, and he believes he already has bonded well with him.

“Marcus has great ideas,” Vaughn said. “I’m excited. We’ve had good dialogue so far.”

According to FanGraphs, opponents threw fewer fastballs (42.3%) in 2023 to Vaughn than during his 2021 rookie season (49.3%), and Vaughn’s ground-ball rate has increased by half a percent.

Nevertheless, Vaughn insinuated that he hasn’t made many significant changes in his swing.

“I did some good work this offseason and put my body in a good spot,” Vaughn said.

Angels 3, Sox 1

The Sox fell to 3-8 after the loss to the Angels on Sunday at Tempe Diablo Stadium. They were held to four hits, and third baseman Bryan Ramos committed a throwing error to start the seventh inning that set up a tiebreaking two-run home run by Mickey Moniak, the first overall pick of the 2016 draft.

• Zach Remillard accounted for the Sox’ scoring by launching a homer in the third inning off reliever Carlos Estevez. Remillard moved into a tie for the team lead with Gavin Sheets with his second homer.

• Oscar Colas, who lost his starting right-field spot shortly after the 2023 opener and is destined to start the 2024 season at Triple-A Charlotte, is getting some work at first base to enhance his versatility.

“Something might come up,” said manager Pedro Grifol, who gave Colas some playing time at first Saturday. “He’s got to be comfortable doing it. He said he was comfortable doing it. He did it in Japan. We’re going to make sure we keep him that way.”

• On deck: Diamondbacks at Sox, 2:05 p.m. Monday, Glendale, Brandon Pfaadt vs. Michael Soroka.