The Guardians announced that they have selected the contract of infielder Will Wilson. He will take the active roster spot of outfielder Lane Thomas, who has been placed on the 10-day injured list with a bone bruise in his right wrist, retroactive to April 20. To open a 40-man spot for Wilson, right-hander Trevor Stephan has been transferred to the 60-day IL.
Thomas has been dealing with the wrist issue for a quite a while, as he was hit by a pitch in that area back on April 8th (video from MLB.com). He wasn’t immediately placed on the IL but didn’t play again for about a week, as he entered the April 15th contest as a pinch hitter. He then started the April 16-18 contests and entered the game on April 19th as a pinch hitter again, but hasn’t appeared in the club’s past two games.
The fact that he wasn’t immediately placed on the IL suggests it’s not a major injury but it’s possible it has been contributing to his awful season, as he currently sports a line of .156/.188/.178 on the year. It seems a decision has been made to let him heal up for a week or so, as opposed to continuing to play through it with poor results.
That will allow Wilson to get to the majors for the first time, which has been a winding road. He was a first round pick of the Angels in 2019, getting selected 15th overall and signing a $3.4MM bonus. Just a few months later, in December of 2019, he was flipped to the Giants in what was essentially a salary dump deal. The Giants took on infielder Zack Cozart, who was owed $12.67MM for the 2020 season, in order to acquire Wilson. The Angels received a player to be named later, whom was later named as left-hander Garrett Williams, and then quickly signed Anthony Rendon to a seven-year $245MM deal to replace Cozart at third base.
The Giants released Cozart a month later, clearly signaling that they only took on his deal as a means of acquiring Wilson, but that didn’t work out for them. Wilson stalled out in the upper levels of the minor leagues. Over 2023 and 2024, he split his time between Double-A and Triple-A but hit just .222/.297/.346 for a wRC+ of 76. His stock had fallen enough that the Giants left him unprotected in the minor league phase of the Rule 5 draft in December, when the Guardians snatched him up.
He’s out to a strong start with his new club, as he has slashed .324/.418/.647 in 18 Triple-A games thus far. Part of that is a .340 batting average on balls in play but he’s also drawing walks at a 12.7% clip and only striking out at a 19% pace. He’s done that while playing mostly third base but also some shortstop and second base.
He won’t directly replace Thomas, who was previously the club’s center fielder, but he will give the club an extra body as they move some versatile pieces around. Utility players like Ángel Martínez and Daniel Schneemann can help cover center while Wilson can perhaps take over as the resident depth infielder for now.
As for Stephan, he underwent Tommy John surgery in March of last year and started this year on the 15-day IL. His current status is unknown but it appears the Guards don’t expect him back before late May, based on this transfer.
Photo courtesy of Samantha Madar, Imagn Images.
I forgot Wilson left the Giants, good to see that he is doing well in the Guardians farm system after getting picked in the rule 5 draft.
Kinda funny… the Angels reached to draft Wilson in the first round. At the time he was seen as a low-ceiling guy without much power or athleticism. The Cozart contract was bad too, he never hit in Cinci except for his walk year. Angels used a bad draft pick to get out of a bad signing… and yet, they won the trade. Baseball…
then Angels turned around and totally messed up and signed Rendon (because Cozart was traded) to a seven-year $245MM deal
Angels just cannot get anything right
As you mentioned, Giants took a chance and it didn’t work out. But Angels got nothing out of a first round pick and then “saved” 12 million only to give it to Anthony Rendon who has been a complete bust. So I don’t think the Angels won the trade either. To me this didn’t work out for either team.
Surprised it took them this long to place Thomas on the IL. He’s done nothing this month, and keeping him on the bench is leaving Vogt a man short. This brings up a question they’ll face on the near horizon, though. David Fry will likely be activated some time in June, but he’ll only be able to DH and PH this year. They need his bat in the lineup, so either Manzardo takes over in RF or 1B, and if the latter Santana to the bench?
Wish him well but what a horrible draft decision by the Angels.
Corbin Carrol was picked immediately after Wilson and George Kirby was on the board when we desperately needed pitching.
What a horrible whiff.
Angels will continue to whiff….
but they got out of a bad deal with Cozart, so if that was the plan draft wilson to deal away Cozart then they master planned that draft to perfection.
Cozart only had one year left on his deal… dumping a first round pick to save $12M in one year is ridiculous.
What is ridiculous is that they took that 12m savings and turned into a $245m loss
Rochio may be “day to day” after being hit on the hand yesterday. They needed some infield depth.
He needs to be sent down.
Giants paid $12 m for this guy to eventually play for Cleveland – nice!
Wrong Garrett Williams link in the article. This is the correct one –
baseball-reference.com/register/player.fcgi?id=wil…
How are the Guards winning with a roster full of glove-only utility players?
Your schtick is old and boring. Get creative.
It’s a legitimate question, Windowpane.
Jose Ramirez, Steven Kwan, Carlos Santana, Lane Thomas, Kyle Manzardo, and a healthy Nolan Jones are not “utility players. Get a clue.
Walt Whitman
Woodrow Wilson
Willie Wonka
Walter White
Will Wilson
You got me, Guardians!
Breaking Bad reference, for those who have not watched that fantastic show.
Don’t forget WW and the Dixie Dance Kings
In a perfect world Wilson stays up when Thomas comes back and Schneeman goes to Columbus.
Schneeman has come up with big hits.
Schneeman took reciepts apparently…
Schneemann isn’t an everyday player, but he’s pretty much the perfect guy to have as your 26th man because he can play anywhere and put up a good at bat. That’s Angel Martinez’s floor too, but he also has the ceiling of an everyday player whereas we pretty much know what Schneemann is.
There isn’t anyone that stands out as a guy to send down, but things like this usually work themselves out anyway.
If I remember correctly Cozart was one of the highest paid players in MLB that year, as he was cut before the pandemic hit so he got his $12MM whereas everyone else was pro-rated. I remember some article explaining why he got the full amount but cannot recall the details.
Farhan’s fools gold!
The Guardians snagging Will Wilson for pennies in the Rule 5 draft is a heist of galactic proportions! His .324/.418/.647 Triple-A slash line and 6 HRs in 18 games scream breakout star, not castoff. Cleveland’s turning a Giants’ oversight into a versatile infield weapon, with Lane Thomas’s injury opening the door.