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Bryse Wilson

Phillies To Sign Bryse Wilson

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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

22 Players Elect Free Agency

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Now that the season is over, we’ll start seeing several players choose to become minor league free agents.  Major League free agents (i.e. players with six-plus years of big league service time) will hit the open market five days after the end of the World Series, but eligible minor leaguers can already start electing free agency.

To qualify, these players must have been all outrighted off their team’s 40-man rosters during the 2025 season without being added back.  These players also must have multiple career outrights on their resume, and/or at least three years of Major League service time.

We’ll offer periodic updates over the coming weeks about many other players hitting the market in this fashion.  These free agent decisions are all listed on the official MLB.com or MILB.com transactions pages, for further reference.

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White Sox Outright Bryse Wilson

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The White Sox have outrighted right-hander Bryse Wilson to Triple-A Charlotte, according to a report from James Fegan of Sox Machine earlier today. Wilson was designated for assignment earlier this week and evidently cleared waivers in the following days.

Wilson, 27, signed on with Chicago on a major league deal this past winter when he hit free agency after being outrighted off of the Brewers’ 40-man roster. A former top-100 prospect who had bounced between Atlanta, Pittsburgh, and Milwaukee and had significant success as a pure reliever with the Brewers back in 2023, it was understandable for the Sox to jump at the chance to bring him in on a one-year, $1.05MM deal this winter. The White Sox did not return Wilson to the full-time relief role he had previously found success in, however, and instead used him as a swing man.

It was not a decision that went over especially well. Wilson immediately struggled after giving up his first run of the year during a three-inning outing on April 4, and went on to post a 7.33 ERA across his next 43 innings before being designated for assignment and outrighted off the club’s roster back in June. While he was briefly brought back to the majors after Aaron Civale was claimed off waivers by the Cubs, his two scoreless innings of work evidently weren’t enough to wash away his deep struggles from earlier in the season and he was designated for assignment once again shortly thereafter.

While Wilson certainly had the opportunity to elect free agency rather than stick around the organization, it’s worth noting that he would’ve forfeited the remainder of his 2025 salary by doing so due to having less than five years of MLB service time. Wilson could be retained via arbitration if added back to the 40-man roster before the end of the season, but the most likely outcome is that he’ll simply head back into free agency this winter. After posting an ugly 6.65 ERA with the White Sox this year, it seems likely that Wilson will be limited to minor league deals.

Perhaps Wilson’s next season could be a more fruitful one if his next club opts to keep him in a pure relief role. Of the 35 earned runs Wilson has allowed with Chicago this year, 27 of them were in outings where he pitched more than two innings. That works out to a 7.36 ERA allowed in outings lasting longer than two frames, even worse than his season-long numbers. As previously mentioned, Wilson’s best season being with the Brewers in 2023, for whom he never threw more than 53 pitches in an outing. By contrast, Wilson threw more pitches than that in eight of his 20 appearances with the White Sox this year.

Whatever lies ahead for Wilson, he’ll be a non-roster depth pitcher for the White Sox in the short-term. Chicago currently has Tyler Alexander and Tyler Gilbert pitching in long relief roles, with arms like Jonathan Cannon and Sean Burke on the 40-man roster as potential options to come up and help out if needed. That leaves Wilson fairly buried on the depth chart, though it’s possible the club will keep Cannon and Burke in the minors through the end of the season for development purposes.

White Sox Designate Bryse Wilson For Assignment

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The White Sox announced that right-hander Jonathan Cannon and left-hander Tyler Gilbert have been recalled from Triple-A Charlotte. Left-hander Bryan Hudson has been placed on the 15-day injured list due to a lower back strain and righty Bryse Wilson has been designated for assignment as the corresponding moves.

Wilson, 27, signed with the Sox this winter. He was outrighted by the Brewers and elected free agency, which led to a one-year deal with the Sox worth $1.05MM. He worked in a swing role for the first few months of the season but didn’t have great results, so he was passed through waivers in June. Since he has less than five years of service time, he would have had to forfeit his remaining salary commitments in electing free agency again, so he accepted the assignment.

The Sox recently added him back to the roster to replace Aaron Civale, who was lost off waivers to the Cubs. Wilson made one more appearance for the Sox in recent days but is now bumped off the roster yet again.

On the whole, Wilson has a 6.65 earned run average in the majors this year. His 12.5% strikeout rate is well below league average and his own previous rate from earlier in his career. His minor league work has been decent. He has thrown 39 2/3 innings for the Knights with a 3.86 ERA, 22.2% strikeout rate, 4.9% walk rate and 56.1% ground ball rate.

He has come somewhat close to that level of performance in the majors before. From 2022 to 2024, he logged 297 innings in the big leagues with a 4.24 ERA, 17.5% strikeout rate, 6.7% walk rate and 40% ground ball rate.

Though his minor league numbers have been decent this year, he is out of options, which could make it hard for clubs to claim him. If he goes unclaimed on waivers again, he will likely accept a second time, in order to continue collecting what remains of this year’s salary. He would be eligible to elect free agency at season’s end if he’s not on the 40-man.

Photo courtesy of Patrick Gorski, Imagn Images

Cubs Claim Aaron Civale

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The Cubs have claimed right-hander Aaron Civale off waivers from the White Sox, according to a team announcement. Left-hander Tom Cosgrove was designated for assignment to make room for Civale on the 40-man roster. In addition the White Sox announced that they’ve selected the contract of right-hander Bryse Wilson to replace Civale on the club’s active and 40-man rosters.

Civale, 30, made his big league debut with Cleveland back in 2019 and posted a 3.77 ERA across 76 starts with the organization, but is now on his fifth team in the past three years as he’s changed hands between Cleveland, Tampa, Milwaukee, and now both Chicago teams. His numbers haven’t been nearly as good since he left the Guardians; since he was traded to Tampa, he’s pitched to a lackluster 4.78 ERA in 59 appearances with a 4.53 FIP and a 22.1% strikeout rate against a 7.5% walk rate. The numbers have been even less impressive this year, as he’s posted a 5.26 ERA with a 4.60 FIP in 16 starts between the Brewers and White Sox this year.

All of that might make it seem somewhat surprising that a Cubs team with designs on making it back to the postseason for the first time in a 162-game season since 2018 would have interest in his services. Despite Civale’s middling results, however, he’s still an appealing addition for Chicago thanks to the fact that he can log reliable innings for the club and help keep their top pitchers fresh ahead of the postseason. 2025 All-Star Matthew Boyd has already logged 153 1/3 innings this year despite having last thrown even 80 innings in a single season all the way back in 2019. Meanwhile, rookie Cade Horton has racked up 127 1/3 frames between Triple-A and the majors despite having never even thrown 90 innings in a season before.

Those heavy workloads could come with consequences by the time October rolls around, and USA Today’s Bob Nightengale reported this morning that the Cubs are already keeping a close eye on Boyd’s workload after he posted a 4.10 ERA in his last seven starts. Horton, meanwhile, has been among the very best pitchers in baseball since the All Star break with a 0.86 ERA in eight starts, but even he has thrown more than 74 pitches in just one of his six starts during the month of August. With Horton and Boyd likely to join Shota Imanaga at the front of Chicago’s rotation for the playoffs, it would make sense for the Cubs to try and ease off the gas for those players while leaning on their depth for the stretch run.

The problem with that plan is that Chicago’s depth has been taxed heavily by injuries. Front-of-the-rotation lefty Justin Steele has been out almost the entire year due to UCL surgery, and since then the Cubs have also lost both Jameson Taillon and deadline addition Michael Soroka to the injured list. Javier Assad has looked quite good since returning from his own stint on the injured list, but other arms will need to join him in helping lift up the front of the rotation if the Cubs are going to be able to rest Boyd and Horton this September.

That’s where Civale comes in, as he can join with other back-end starters and swingmen the Cubs have at their disposal like Assad, Ben Brown, and Colin Rea to help take the load off of Chicago’s projected playoff starters. At the very least, he should be able to serve as a capable bridge to players like Soroka and Taillon, who may be activated off the injured list before the end of the regular season. It’s also possible the Cubs will be able to get something more than innings out of Civale, given his past success and the solid enough 4.28 FIP he posted during his time with the White Sox.

In exchange for Civale’s services, the Cubs will pay the remainder of the right-hander’s $8MM salary for the 2025 campaign. That should free up some money for the White Sox as they look ahead towards the 2025-26 offseason and hope for better days next year. It will also provide opportunities for other arms to step into the rotation and show what they can do ahead of the offseason. Perhaps that will include Wilson, who was outrighted off the White Sox roster back in June after surrendering a 6.95 ERA in 45 1/3 appearances. Now that he’s back on the roster, perhaps Wilson will be able to finish the season strong at the big league level as he heads towards what will likely be free agency in the offseason, unless he pitches so well that the White Sox are convinced to tender him a contract for 2026.

As for Cosgrove, the lefty has a 2.25 ERA across four appearances with the Cubs this year after spending most of the season at Triple-A. He’s logged 70 big league innings in total over the past three years, the majority of which came as a member of the Padres, and in that time he’s pitched to a 3.86 ERA with a 4.07 FIP. The Cubs will have one week to try and pass Cosgrove through waivers, at which point they’ll have the opportunity to assign him outright to the minors if he goes unclaimed.

White Sox Outright Bryse Wilson To Triple-A

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TODAY: Wilson cleared waivers and has been outrighted to Triple-A Charlotte, the White Sox announced.

JUNE 10: The White Sox announced that they have selected right-hander Grant Taylor to the roster, a move that was reported yesterday. Fellow righty Bryse Wilson has been designated for assignment as the corresponding move.

Wilson, 27, was signed in December to a one-year deal that guaranteed him $1.05MM. He was a sensible pickup for Chicago since he had experience as both a starter and a reliever. With the Brewers over 2023 and 2024, he tossed 181 1/3 innings with a 3.42 earned run average. The rebuilding Sox came into the year with a fairly young and inexperienced pitching staff and could deploy Wilson as needed, depending on how he and everyone else performed.

Unfortunately, he hasn’t really provided the club with much in either role. He has made five starts and 14 relief appearances so far this year, logging 45 1/3 innings with a 6.95 ERA. That includes a 6.23 ERA as a starter and a 7.61 mark in relief work. His 8.7% walk rate is right around average but his 12.4% strikeout rate is barely half of league par.

That performance has nudged Wilson off the roster and into DFA limbo, which can last for a week at most. The waiver process takes 48 hours, so the Sox can theoretically take five days to explore trade interest. However, given Wilson’s salary and performance this year, there isn’t likely to be strong interest.

If he is passed through waivers unclaimed, he will likely stick with the Sox as non-roster depth. Players with at least three years of service time have the right to reject an outright assignment and elect free agency. However, if they have less than five years of service, they have to forfeit their remaining salary in order to exercise that right.

Wilson came into this year with four years and 36 days of service. By my count, he has added 75 days so far in 2025, putting him at 4.111. That’s still 61 days shy of the five-year mark. Assuming he wants to keep the rest of that $1.05MM flowing, he would choose to report to Charlotte as opposed to electing free agency.

The Sox are 22-44 this year and will clearly be deadline sellers. Any pitcher with limited control who is putting up decent numbers should be available in the coming weeks. That includes guys like Adrian Houser, Dan Altavilla and Steven Wilson. That could further thin out the pitching staff and open further opportunities for Bryse later in the year.

Photo courtesy of Patrick Gorski, Imagn Images

White Sox Notes: Robert, Wilson, Benintendi

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Luis Robert Jr. has been the subject of trade rumors for well over a year. With the White Sox in a full rebuild, it has felt like a matter of time before the 2023 All-Star would head elsewhere.

That has been complicated by Robert’s recent play. He missed a couple months early last year with a hip flexor strain and hit .224/.278/.379 with 14 homers in 100 games. The Sox held him over the offseason, maintaining a high asking price in hopes that he’d rebound and emerge as a key deadline trade chip. That hasn’t happened, as Robert’s numbers have only further spiraled. He goes into tonight’s game with a .186/.281/.308 line over 180 plate appearances. Robert has taken walks at a career-best 11.7% rate, but he’s striking out 29% of the time and not hitting for his usual amount of power.

Robert acknowledged that the lack of production is tanking his trade value. “Right now, as my season is going, I don’t think anybody is going to take a chance on me,” he told reporters through an interpreter (link via Kyle Williams of The Chicago Sun-Times). There are a little over two months for Robert to turn things around before the deadline. He remains a capable defensive center fielder and leads MLB with 17 stolen bases. Robert still has intriguing physical tools, but he hasn’t come close to his 2021-23 numbers (.287/.331/.511) in the batter’s box.

The Sox owe Robert what remains of his $15MM salary. He’s controlled via $20MM club options for another two seasons, but it’s increasingly difficult to see the team exercising those.

In other news out of Chicago, the Sox finalized their one-year deal with righty Adrian Houser this afternoon. He drew right into the rotation and held Seattle scoreless over six innings in a 1-0 victory for his team debut. Manager Will Venable confirmed that the Sox were moving Bryse Wilson back to the bullpen as a result of the signing (link via Scott Merkin of MLB.com).

Wilson had begun the year in relief but drew into the starting five after the Martín Pérez injury. He had a 5.28 ERA over 10 relief appearances. He struggled in four starts, surrendering 13 runs across 17 2/3 innings. Wilson is out of options, so the Sox needed to keep him on the MLB roster or designate him for assignment. He’s likely to work as a long man.

Meanwhile, Andrew Benintendi began a rehab assignment with Triple-A Charlotte this evening. He went 0-4 with a strikeout while working as the designated hitter. Benintendi has been out for two weeks with a strained calf. He’d hit .224/.298/.400 with five homers through his first 24 games. Austin Slater is the primary left fielder in Benintendi’s absence.

White Sox Sign Bryse Wilson

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The White Sox announced that they have signed right-hander Bryse Wilson to a one-year deal worth $1.05MM. Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reported those terms prior to the official announcement and added that Wilson will compete for a rotation spot and can also access bonuses worth $250K in the deal. The Sox had a full 40-man roster but opened a spot by trading catcher Chuckie Robinson to the Angels.

It’s a bit of an early birthday present for Wilson, who turns 27 on Friday. Despite being relatively young, he has pitched in parts of seven major league seasons to this point, debuting with Atlanta as a 20-year-old back in 2018. While many early debutants are on All-Star trajectories and Wilson was considered a top 100 prospect going into the 2019 season, he has spent most of his career thus far as a fairly unremarkable swingman.

Atlanta kept Wilson mostly in a depth role, not letting him get more than 34 innings in any season from 2018 to 2021. He was then flipped to the Pirates as part of the 2021 deadline deal that sent Richard Rodríguez the other way. He spent the next year and a half jockeying for position in the Pittsburgh rotation without fully cementing himself there. He exhausted his final option year in 2022 and was going to be tougher to keep on the roster going forward. He was designated for assignment going into 2023 and was flipped to the Brewers for cash.

Milwaukee used Wilson as a multi-inning reliever in 2023 and then as a swingman in 2024. He could have been retained for 2025 via arbitration, with MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projecting him for a modest salary of $1.5MM, but the Brewers outrighted him off the roster in early November.

Generally speaking, the results have been passable but middling for Wilson. His control has been good but he hasn’t been able to rack up huge numbers of strikeouts or ground balls. Overall, he has a 4.61 ERA in 413 2/3 innings to this point in his career. His 7.4% walk rate is better than average but his 17.1% strikeout rate and 38.8% ground ball rate are both subpar.

He did have a strong 2.58 ERA in 2023 when working solely in relief, but that seems to have been mostly luck. His strikeout, walk and grounder rates were all close to his career norms but he had a tiny .232 batting average on balls in play and high strand rate of 81.2%. His 4.13 FIP and 4.31 SIERA suggested it wasn’t sustainable. In 2024, he regressed back to his typical lane with a 4.04 ERA as the BABIP and strand rate normalized a bit.

Though the numbers have been fairly uninspiring, it’s a sensible fit for all sides. Despite once being a top pitching prospect, Wilson has never been given a full rotation chance. His workload topped out at 115 2/3 innings in 2022, when the Pirates sent him to the minors and to the bullpen multiple times. Going to a club with a wide open rotation like the White Sox is surely an appealing opportunity for him.

For the Sox, this investment is essentially nothing in baseball terms. Wilson’s salary will be barely above next year’s $760K league minimum. They also have almost nothing established in their rotation at this point. They had four pitchers make 21 or more starts for them in 2024 and three of them are gone. Erick Fedde was traded to the Cardinals at the deadline last year. Garrett Crochet was traded to the Red Sox last week. Chris Flexen became a free agent at season’s end. That leaves Jonathan Cannon, who just debuted in 2024, as the only guy who pitched a decent number of innings this year and is still on the roster.

The Sox also have guys like Drew Thorpe, Davis Martin, Sean Burke, Jared Shuster, Nick Nastrini, Jairo Iriarte, Jake Eder, Wikelman Gonzalez and Ky Bush on the roster but no one in that group has even a full year of major league service time or 115 innings pitched in the big leagues.

Though Wilson isn’t much older than the guys in that group, and is actually younger than Martin, he has spent far more time facing big league hitters. He can serve as an experienced veteran, relatively speaking, while he tries to take advantage of a fairly open lane for a rotation job. If several of those young pitchers step forward and earn big league auditions, Wilson can move to a bullpen that’s also fairly lacking in proven options.

Wilson’s service time is between four and five years, so the Sox could actually retain him via arbitration for 2026 if things go well next year. Though if things go especially well, he’s likely to end up being traded at next year’s deadline.

Frankie Montas Declines Mutual Option; Brewers Outright Bryse Wilson, Jake Bauers

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The Brewers announced a set of roster moves today, including the news that Frankie Montas declined his end of a $20MM mutual option for the 2025 season.  Montas (who will be 32 on Opening Day) will instead take a $2MM buyout and enter free agency.  Milwaukee also outrighted right-hander Bryse Wilson and first baseman/outfielder Jake Bauers off the 40-man roster, and both players will head to free agency as well.

The one-year contract Montas signed with the Reds last winter broke down as a $14MM guarantee for 2024, and then the $2MM buyout on the $20MM mutual option.  It should be noted that mutual options are almost never triggered by both sides, so Montas’ decision to decline the option in the wake of his so-so season shouldn’t be seen as a surprise, as the Brewers surely would’ve passed on their end of the option anyway.

A labrum surgery in February 2023 ended up costing Montas all but 1 1/3 innings of the 2023 season, as he made it back to pitch in the second-last game of the Yankees’ regular-season schedule.  Despite that lost year, the right-hander’s past track record of success as a starter with the Athletics still allowed Montas to land a healthy one-year guarantee in free agency, though his attempt at a bounce-back season delivered mixed results.

Montas posted a 4.84 ERA over 150 2/3 combined innings with the Reds and Brewers, as Milwaukee picked up Montas in an intra-division trade at the deadline.  The righty’s strikeout rate shot upwards after the trade and his SIERA improved by almost a full run, even though Montas’ 4.55 ERA with the Brew Crew wasn’t a huge upgrade over the 5.01 ERA he posted in Cincinnati.

For the full season, Montas’ 22.6% strikeout rate, 10.1% walk rate, 27.7% chase rate, and hard-contact metrics were all below the league average.  Some rust was perhaps expected since Montas missed basically all of 2023, and the fact that he returned to pitch 150 2/3 innings is perhaps the most important stat in the eyes of some evaluators.  Teams will always have a need for starters who can eat innings, and Montas’ uptick in performance after joining the Brewers could be viewed as a sign that he might still be able to get closer to his old form now that he is further removed from his surgery.

Bauers was projected to earn $2.3MM in his second year of arbitration eligibility, and Wilson $1.5MM in his first trip through the arb process.  Both were expected to be non-tendered, so today’s moves gives the pair an early jump on the free agent market in advance of the November 22 non-tender deadline.

Acquired from the Yankees in a trade last November, Bauers hit .199/.301/.361 with 12 homers over 346 plate appearances in what looks to be his lone season in Milwaukee.  Bauers primarily played in a timeshare at first base with Rhys Hoskins, while also getting some action in at both corner outfield positions.  Hoskins exercised his player option and will return to the Brewers in 2025, with Tyler Black probably now penciled in to at least assume the left-handed hitting side of the first base timeshare, leaving Bauers an obvious odd man out.

Wilson had a 4.04 ERA, 18.6% strikeout rate, and seven percent walk rate over 104 2/3 innings in 2024, and he worked in a variety of roles as a starter, reliever, and bulk pitcher behind an opener.  Working in a pure relief role with the Brewers in 2023, Wilson had a 2.58 ERA in 76 2/3 frames over 53 appearances.

Between Wilson’s solid bottom-line results, the low arbitration price tag, and the remaining years of team control, Milwaukee’s decision to move on from the 26-year-old seems curious at first, though Wilson’s underwhelming peripherals provide the answer.  Wilson’s .253 BABIP helped offset his lack of strikeout punch, and his 4.33 SIERA over his two seasons with the Brewers was substantially higher than his 3.42 ERA.  The Brewers could potentially look to re-sign Wilson to a new contract, though it seems like the Crew might want a higher-upside arm for its pitching depth chart.

Brewers Notes: Pitching, Hall, Wilson, Roller

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As the Brewers continue to manage significant injuries in both the rotation and bullpen, the team is continuing to look for “all pitching,” as a source on a rival club tells FanSided’s Robert Murray.  The recent acquisitions of Aaron Civale of the Rays and Dallas Keuchel from the Mariners might be just the first steps for the Brew Crew in bolstering the pitching staff for a possible postseason run, as Milwaukee holds a six-game lead in the NL Central despite dealing with a patchwork rotation.

The Civale/Keuchel moves could provide some insight into the types of deals the Brewers may pursue, as acquiring starters for upside or depth purposes seem likelier than a blockbuster trade for a clear-cut ace.  The latter type of a move would probably come at either (or both) a significant financial or prospect cost, which the Brewers might not want to pursue given both their payroll limitations or the added importance of their minor league pipeline within this more limited financial landscape.  This doesn’t mean president of baseball operations Matt Arnold won’t explore all options in improving the team, of course, as any number of unexpected deals could emerge on Milwaukee’s radar.

The extent of the Brewers’ deadline plans will also naturally hinge on how many of their own pitchers are healthy by July 30.  Some help is coming on this front soon, as DL Hall tossed three innings in a minor league rehab start yesterday, and Curt Hogg of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (X link) writes that Hall’s next appearance is expected to be in the majors.

Hall’s last appearance in the Show came on April 20, as he was placed on the 15-day and then the 60-day injured list due to a left knee sprain that involved some MCL damage.  The left-hander is trying to pitch through the discomfort to some extent, and the Brewers have seemingly given Hall plenty of runway in the form of eight minor league rehab outings.  With a 1.84 ERA over those eight games and 14 2/3 total innings, Hall looks to be in good form, though he has only twice hit the 61-pitch plateau, and hasn’t thrown more than 62 pitches.

As Hogg notes, Hall wouldn’t necessarily be returned to the Brewers’ rotation once he is activated, as he could instead work out of the bullpen.  Hall posted a 7.71 ERA in four starts prior to his IL placement, but he had a 3.26 ERA over 19 1/3 frames working out of the Orioles’ bullpen in 2023.  While small sample sizes abound for a pitcher who has only 49 1/3 career innings as a big leaguer, Hall’s relief work last season was highlighted by a 6.2% walk rate — a significant improvement from the control problems Hall has shown throughout much of the rest of his career in both the majors and minors.

Moving Hall to the pen for now wouldn’t close the door on his starting future, of course, as Hall is still just 25 and has long been a staple of top-100 prospect lists.  The Crew could re-examine his potential as a starter next spring or even later this year as circumstances develop, but using Hall as a reliever (and perhaps a multi-inning reliever) might be a canny way of helping the team achieve more immediate success this season.

While it is a reach to say that the Brewers may soon have a surplus of rotation options, Civale’s addition has already led the club to move Bryse Wilson back to the bullpen.  Wilson’s 78 innings rank third among all Milwaukee pitchers this season, as he has started nine of his 20 appearances and worked as a bulk pitcher behind an opener in three more of those outings.

Moved into this pseudo-starter role in the wake of other injuries, Wilson’s initial results have been solid on the whole, if inconsistent.  The righty has a 4.27 ERA over his 78 frames, but a laundry list of below-average Statcast numbers reveal that Wilson has received some good fortune, such as a .261 BABIP and a .321 wOBA that is well below his .355 xwOBA.  Keeping Wilson as a swingman provides Milwaukee with added depth, and his career numbers as a reliever are better than his work as a starter, even if the bulk pitcher/reliever designations don’t provide an entirely clear picture of those stats.

In other Brewers news, the team outrighted outfielder Chris Roller to Triple-A yesterday after he cleared waivers.  Roller was designated for assignment last week, and since this was the first time Roller has been outrighted in his career, he couldn’t reject the assignment in favor of free agency.  He’ll now return to Triple-A Nashville, where he has posted a .201/.238/.321 slash line over 168 plate appearances this season.

The 27-year-old Roller is a veteran of seven pro seasons, all with the Dodgers and Guardians before the Brewers acquired him in a trade last August.  His time in Milwaukee has been highlighted by his Major League debut, as Roller played three innings as a defensive sub on May 15 and received one plate appearance in the Brewers’ 10-2 win over the Pirates.  This marked Roller’s only appearance in the Show, as the Brewers only temporarily needed some extra outfield depth and soon optioned him back to Nashville.

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