White Sox Outright Steven Wilson

The White Sox announced that right-hander Steven Wilson, who was designated for assignment last week, has passed through waivers unclaimed and been outrighted to Triple-A Charlotte. He’ll be in big league camp as a non-roster invitee, per Scott Merkin of MLB.com.

Wilson, 30, came to the Sox just under a year ago as part of the Dylan Cease trade. He had put up some solid numbers in San Diego over the previous two seasons. He tossed 106 innings over 102 appearances in 2022 and 2023. He allowed 3.48 earned runs per nine. His 10.9% walk rate was a bit high but he struck out 25.4% of batters faced. He was trusted enough by the Friars to rack up a save and 27 holds.

But his 2024 ended up being a struggle, as he went on the injured list due to back strains on a couple of occasions. He did make 40 appearances around those IL stints but had a 5.71 ERA in those. His walk rate spike to 16% while his strikeout rate fell to 20.9%.

Despite the rough season, the White Sox tendered Wilson a contract for 2025 and avoided arbitration by agreeing to a $950K salary. They then bumped him off the roster when they claimed lefty Brandon Eisert last week. It seems none of the 29 other clubs were willing to grab Wilson at that price point, so he went unclaimed.

Wilson has three years of service time, which gave him the right to elect free agency. However, since he has less than five years of service, heading to the open market would have meant forfeiting that $950K. He’ll stick with the Sox and try to earn his way back onto the roster.

There’s a decent chance of opportunities opening up throughout the year. Justin Anderson is the only reliever on the roster with more than three years of service time. Penn Murfee is the only other guy beyond the two-year mark. That means very little is cemented in the group overall, which could afford Wilson a path back to the big leagues. If he gets back on the roster, he has a full slate of options.