White Sox release former three-time All-Star infielder

The White Sox have released infielder Mike Moustakas and outfielder Kevin Pillar, the team announced. Both players had been in camp on minor-league contracts.

Moustakas and Pillar were among 31 players who had automatic opt-out rights today, under the terms of the collective bargaining agreement. That typically applies to players with more than six years of major-league service who finished last season on an MLB roster, but settled for a minor-league pact over the winter. It’s not clear whether Pillar and Moustakas officially triggered their opt-outs or if Chicago preemptively released them with the expectation they’d do so.

The end result is that both players will head back to the open market. Moustakas had a tough spring, struggling to a .195/.283/.317 batting line in 46 plate appearances. The three-time All-Star split last season between the Rockies and Angels. While he’d started the year reasonably well in Colorado, his bat wilted down the stretch. He concluded the year with a .247/.293/.392 slash through 386 plate appearances.

Pillar also had a middling performance this spring, although he seemed to have a better path to the roster. The veteran outfielder turned in a .250/.306/.386 mark in 49 trips to the dish. Pillar had been trying to snag a job as a righty-hitting complement to the lefty-swinging corner outfield tandem of Andrew Benintendi and Dominic Fletcher.