The Phillies have a deal in place with right-hander Bryse Wilson, reports Jon Heyman of The New York Post. It’s unclear if it’s a major league or minor league pact for the Pro Edge Sports Management client. The Phils have multiple 40-man vacancies, so they won’t need to make a corresponding move even if this is a big league deal.
Wilson, 28 in December, has worked both as a starter and a reliever in his career. He has appeared in 163 games over the past eight big league seasons, 57 of those being starts, having suited up for Atlanta, Pittsburgh, Milwaukee and the White Sox. He has logged 461 innings over those eight seasons, allowing 4.82 earned runs per nine. His 16.6% strikeout rate is quite low but he has limited walks to a 7.5% clip.
He’s coming off a rough season. He signed a one-year, $1.05MM deal with the White Sox. He had just been cut loose by the Brewers and presumably hoped that signing with a rebuilding club would give him a path to carving out a nice role and showcasing his abilities. Instead, he posted a 6.65 ERA over 47 1/3 innings. He was passed through waivers unclaimed twice during the year. While in the minors, he posted better numbers. He tossed 48 2/3 Triple-A innings with a 4.25 ERA, 20.5% strikeout rate, 5.5% walk rate and 53.8% ground ball rate.
It’s possible the Phils want Wilson to serve in a swing role, logging multiple innings out of the bullpen with the occasional spot start. They signed Spencer Turnbull for a role like this in 2024 and Joe Ross in 2025.
As of this moment, the Phillies have a rotation that consists of Zack Wheeler, Cristopher Sánchez, Jesús Luzardo, Aaron Nola and Taijuan Walker. It’s possible that Wheeler begins 2026 on the injured list while he recovers from thoracic outlet syndrome surgery. While he’s out, prospect Andrew Painter could take a rotation job but Painter had a 5.40 ERA in Triple-A last year and still hasn’t made his major league debut.
It’s possible that the Phils get to the end of spring training and decide Painter needs more time in Triple-A. If Wheeler or anyone else needs some time on the injured list, then they would need someone else to step up. Wilson could potentially take a rotation spot and then bump into long relief when Painter forces his way in or Wheeler or whoever else gets healthy.
Wilson is out of options, meaning he can’t be sent to the minors easily. However, he has less than five years of big league service time. That means that, if he has a 40-man roster spot at the end of the year, the Phils could decide to retain him beyond 2026 via arbitration.
Photo courtesy of Patrick Gorski, Imagn Images
Its crazy this guy is still in the league.
He has a decent track record as a swingman (4.71 ERA, 5.11 FIP, 1.367 WHIP, 2.35 K/BB). He’s not great, keep in mind, but he’s a cheap innings eater.
Huh?
His stuff has good vibrations
Maybe the Bryce is Right
Best wishes. He serves up a lot of homers.
Minor league deal is my guess
Seems like AAAA depth signing
Thank God I never have to see him in a White Sox uniform ever again.
Ditto Brewers.
What
Phillies fan my entire life and I don’t understand why they think it’s better to skim off of other people’s trash instead of just signing a guy you know will help you. This is not a mid-level team. This is the team that is World Series or bust and you just don’t sign a bunch of guys like this and hope somebody sticks.
This is easy. They have so much money invested into the roster that they cut corners in the bullpen area. They have been doing it for the last few years with mixed results(Hoffman-good, Romano-awful, etc). I get the point
Signing the most expensive guy to your position of need is not always the best move. Example: The Mets.
Low risk high-reward is Dave’s game outside of the big budget guys. Kinda like Howie Roseman
No way in hell he gets a major league deal.
Came in as a strike throwing demon. But not enough movement or deception on his pitches, so hitters could square up against him. And they have.
Phillies probably wanted another batting practice pitchers.
Well, if he’s as good as Spencer Turnbull or Joe Ross, then..(throwing up in trash bag)
Why? These are the dumb moves they do. You can wait till FEB for these guys.
Bryce, Bryson, Bryse. Clearly trying to break John Kruk.
He’ll pitch in the minors. Could be available as an injury replacement.
Phillies will be in big, big trouble if Bryce Wilson is needed to pitch for them this season.
Would love to see Dombro package Taijuan Walker and Nick Castellanos in a trade to a bottom dweller (White Sox, Rockies, Pirates e.g.) who would take a shot with both doing reasonably well so they could flip them at the trade deadline for more than they gave up acquiring them.
Of course, the Phillies will have to eat some big cheese to move either one or both in a trade and should not be asking for anything in return more valuable than a Player in A ball or another vet with a bad contract.
Yeah. I’ll be watching this guy throw HR balls in Lehigh Valley…I hope to god were not in a situation that we need someone like this in the rotation much.
Now pitching for the Iron Pigs…
Glenn would help more.