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Justin Wilson

Pitcher Notes: EJax, J. Wilson, King Felix, Wainwright

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The latest on a few injured hurlers…

  • The Blue Jays placed right-hander Edwin Jackson on the 10-day injured list Tuesday with a lower back issue, Scott Mitchell of TSN tweets. Jackson has endured a nightmarish season with Toronto, the record 14th major league team for which he has pitched, having notched a 12.43 ERA/9.65 FIP with 6.04 K/9 and 4.26 BB/9 in 25 1/3 innings. The 35-year-old allowed seven earned runs on six hits (three homers) and two walks during a 2/3-inning shellacking at the hands of the Angels on Monday. For now, Jackson’s IL placement will stave off a potential designation for assignment.
  • Mets left-handed reliever Justin Wilson had been nearing activation, but he has suffered a setback in his injured elbow, per Anthony DiComo of MLB.com. That’s yet another negative development for the woebegone Mets, who also received bad injury news on outfielder Brandon Nimmo and reliever Jeurys Familia on Wednesday. Like Familia, another of the Mets’ big-ticket offseason pickups, Wilson has trudged through a season to forget thus far. The 31-year-old Wilson has been on the IL twice – including since May 11 – with elbow troubles, and he has only logged a 4.82 ERA/5.96 FIP in 9 1/3 innings since the Mets signed him to a two-year, $10MM contract.
  • Mariners right-hander Felix Hernandez underwent an MRI on his sore lat muscle on Tuesday, according to Greg Johns of MLB.com. Hernandez – who hasn’t pitched in the bigs since May 11 – had been on a rehab assignment, but concern arose when he exited a minor league start last Friday with shoulder fatigue. “Felix had some discomfort in the back of his shoulder,” manager Scott Servais said. “It’s concerning enough to get new images of that. Let’s find out exactly what is going on in there.” Thanks in part to Hernandez’s injuries, it appears the Mariners legend’s tenure in Seattle will go out with a whimper. The impending free agent, 33, has followed up his woeful 2018 production with an even worse 6.52 ERA/5.37 FIP in 38 2/3 innings and eight starts this season.
  • Cardinals righty Adam Wainwright will come off the IL to start Thursday, Jenifer Langosch of MLB.com relays. Wainwright has been on the shelf since he departed a June 9 start with left hamstring tightness. Like most of St. Louis’ other starters, the 37-year-old Cardinals icon has registered unspectacular numbers this season. Wainwright owns a 4.46 ERA/4.59 FIP with 7.77 K/9 and 3.95 BB/9 in 70 2/3 innings.

Pitcher Notes: Angels, Padres, Mets, Rangers

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The Angels are set to place right-hander Trevor Cahill on the injured list with elbow soreness, according to Maria Torres of the Los Angeles Times. Manager Brad Ausmus suggested Cahill won’t miss more than one start, though. Regardless of how long he sits out, this has been a disastrous season for Cahill, who joined the Angels after a solid 2018 showing with the Athletics. The 31-year-old Cahill has recorded a 7.18 ERA/6.35 ERA with 7.18 K/9 and 3.12 BB/9 in 57 2/3 innings since the Angels inked him to a $9MM guarantee over the winter.

  • Cahill and fellow righty Matt Harvey (one year, $11MM) were the Angels’ highest-profile free-agent additions during the offseason. Harvey has joined Cahill in disappointing during an injury-limited campaign, but he’s on the way back. Harvey began a Triple-A rehab assignment Saturday, the team announced. The 30-year-old went to the IL on May 25 because of an upper back strain. He got off to a brutal start before then, posting 48 innings of 7.50 ERA/6.17 FIP pitching with 6.56 K/9, 3.94 BB/9 and 2.06 HR/9.
  • The Padres announced that they’ve placed reliever Adam Warren on the 10-day IL with a right forearm strain. The team recalled righty Gerardo Reyes in a corresponding move. The injury adds to what has been a trying season for Warren, a 31-year-old free-agent signing who has registered a 5.34 ERA/6.84 FIP with 7.85 K/9, 3.77 BB/9 and 2.83 HR/9 in 28 2/3 innings.
  • Mets reliever Justin Wilson is slated to begin a rehab assignment Tuesday, Anthony DiComo of MLB.com tweets. Wilson’s not sure when he’ll return, but barring setbacks, it’ll have to be within 30 days. Elbow soreness sent Wilson to the injured list May 11, the second time the southpaw has been on the IL with issues in the joint this season. Not only that, but Wilson – whom the Mets signed to a two-year, $10MM contract in the offseason – has yielded five earned runs on nine hits with four walks (against nine strikeouts) in 9 1/3 innings in 2019.
  • The Rangers have activated righty reliever Matt Bush and assigned him to the Double-A level, per TR Sullivan of MLB.com. It’s an important step forward for Bush, who underwent surgery on a partial UCL tear in his elbow last September. However, the procedure didn’t stop the Rangers from bringing back the 33-year-old on a minor league deal. Bush debuted with the Rangers in 2016 and has since notched a 3.35 ERA/3.65 FIP with 9.1 K/9 and 3.1 BB/9 in 137 innings.

NL East Notes: Hammer, Ross, Bourque, Sobotka, Wilson

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With sidearmer Pat Neshek headed to the injured list, the Phillies have selected the contract of J.D. Hammer to take his place, per Matt Breen of the Philadelphia Inquirer. Breen also points out a fun bit of trivia regarding these two, as this is actually the second time Neshak has cleared out for Hammer in Philly. Hammer first came to the Phillies (along with two others) in a 2017 deadline deal that sent Neshek from the Phillies to the Rockies (Twitter links). Hammer has a 1.61 ERA between Double-A and Triple-A so far this season, though most of his time has been in Reading. In fact, Hammer is now primed to make his major league debut as just one appearance in Triple-A.

  • The Nationals continue recent tinkering of their bullpen personnel. Though their relief crew has been an unmitigated disaster, recent moves have been prompted largely by injuries to Anibal Sanchez and Jeremy Hellickson. With both Erick Fedde and Kyle McGowin taking a turn in the rotation, the Nationals are bringing in another fresh arm to help their beleaguered pen. James Bourque gets set to make his major league debut in Washington, while Joe Ross will be sent to Triple-A Fresno, per Jesse Dougherty of the Washington Post (via Twitter). Finally healthy, Ross has been unable to adjust to life in the pen, sporting a bad-even-in-Washington 9.22 ERA (5.87 FIP) over 16 appearances. The velocity has been there for Ross (94.1 mph) but the control has not (5.3 BB/9). Austin Voth will be the only pitcher left on the Nationals 40-man roster not to make an appearance with the big league club this season.
  • Speaking of bullpen troubles, the Braves actually lead the league in number of pitchers used in relief so far this season with 19, per MLB.com’s Jordan Bastian (via Twitter). Chad Sobotka, one of the nineteen, was activated from the 10-day injured list and optioned to Triple-A, per MLB Roster Moves. Sobotka earned -0.6 rWAR in just 13 appearances before his injury, pitching to an 8.25 ERA while walking 6.8 batters per nine innings.
  • In New York, Justin Wilson remains at least a week away from returning from elbow soreness for the Mets, per MLB.com’s Anthony DiComo (via Twitter). Wilson has resumed throwing activities, with the next step being mound work before likely getting a few days on a rehab assignment. Wilson, 31, had made 10 appearances, going 1-1 with a 4.82 ERA before hitting the injured list, but there’s little to glean from such a small sample size.

Mets Place Justin Wilson On IL; Jeurys Familia Set To Return Sunday

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The Mets’ bullpen is set for a couple noteworthy changes this weekend, per Deesha Thosar of the New York Daily News. The team placed left-hander Justin Wilson on the 10-day injured list Saturday because of an elbow problem, while righty Jeurys Familia is expected to come off the IL on Sunday. In the meantime, the Mets recalled righty Eric Hanhold from Triple-A Syracuse.

Wilson’s IL placement is already the second of the season for the 31-year-old, who went down April 26 with elbow soreness and is now back on the shelf almost immediately after returning from that issue. Wilson came back May 6, gave up two earned runs on three hits in an inning of work and hasn’t pitched since.

Normally a competent reliever, Wilson hasn’t yet given the Mets the type of production they were hoping for when they signed the ex-Pirate, Yankee, Tiger and Cub to a two-year, $10MM contract in free agency. Over 10 appearances and 9 1/3 innings, Wilson has yielded five earned runs on six hits – including two homers – and seen his strikeout rate drop precipitously.

As with the Wilson pickup, the Familia signing was one of a few headline-grabbing bullpen additions general manager Brodie Van Wagenen during his first winter on the job. Familia got an even richer pact, a three-year, $30MM deal, but has also fallen flat thus far. Now in his second stint with the Mets, the 29-year-old Familia logged a 6.26 ERA/5.98 FIP with 9.42 K/9, an untenable 8.16 BB/9 and a career-worst 18.2 percent HR-to-fly ball rate 14 1/3 innings before going to the IL. Familia’s velocity dropped at an alarming degree along the way, likely because he was trying to pitch through a Bennett lesion – which Thosar notes is “equivalent to a bone spur.”

While it’s unclear when Wilson will return to the Mets’ bullpen, they’ll need the vintage version of Familia immediately. New York’s relief corps looked like a strength coming into the season, but it has since stumbled to the majors’ seventh-worst walk rate and eighth-highest ERA amid the club’s uninspiring start.

Mets Place Justin Wilson On 10-Day IL; MRI Clean For DeGrom

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The Mets announced today that they’ve placed southpaw reliever Justin Wilson on the 10-day injured list, as Tim Britton of The Athletic was among those to cover (Twitter links). He’s experiencing elbow soreness, but the club indicated it anticipates a brief IL stint after receiving the results of an MRI.

The imaging gods are shining on Queens, it seems. Ace starter Jacob deGrom’s MRI came back negative, so his elbow scare appears to be just that. deGrom was able to throw a pen session earlier today; it seems likely he’ll be ready for activation at or near the 10-day minimum.

A few other roster tweaks are also in the books. The Mets activated third baseman Todd Frazier, as anticipated, and called up infielder Luis Guillorme. (Guillorme boosts the infield depth further with both Robinson Cano and Amed Rosario dealing with minor issues.) To create an additional active roster spot, the Mets optioned down righty Paul Sewald.

Wilson’s absence leaves a notable hole in the New York pen — though the hope is it’s only a temporary one. Wilson has thrown 8 1/3 useful innings to open the year, allowing three earned runs on six hits with eight strikeouts and four walks. There are two other southpaws available in Luis Avilan and Daniel Zamora, but the former has been torched while the latter hasn’t yet pitched in the bigs this season.

Mets Designate Gavin Cecchini, Announce Justin Wilson Signing

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The Mets have designated infielder Gavin Cecchini for assignment, per a club announcement. His roster spot will go to just-signed reliever Justin Wilson, whose previously reported deal is now official.

Cecchini, 25, was the 12th overall pick in the 2012 draft. Clearly, his development has not gone as anticipated at that time. He has appeared briefly in the majors, but has not yet come close to commanding a full chance at the game’s highest level.

Perhaps it’s not too soon to give up hope on Cecchini, who turned in a pair of productive upper-minors campaigns at the plate in 2015-16 but has fallen off the pace since. The high-contact, low-power hitter scuffled a bit in 2017 and missed much of the ensuing season with a foot injury, though he hit just fine when healthy.

For the Mets, there were obviously too many infield alternatives and too many other roster demands to hang on to Cecchini. One significant factor is likely the fact that he has largely moved over to second base from shortstop, limiting his pathways to the majors.

At this point, perhaps, the smart money is on a future as a utility player. That said, there’s still some real potential value. And other teams may well think that Cecchini still has the tools to become a significant performer. With one more option year remaining, he could be a trade or waiver-wire target for clubs that have an under-utilized roster spot and want to take a shot.

Mets To Sign Justin Wilson

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The Mets are in agreement on a contract with free-agent lefty Justin Wilson, reports Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic (Twitter link). The ACES client’s contract is still pending the completion of a physical. Assuming that checks out, he’ll be paid a total of $10MM over two years, per Fancred’s Jon Heyman (Twitter link).

Justin Wilson | Patrick Gorski-USA TODAY Sports

Wilson, 31, will give the Mets a much-needed lefty to a bullpen where the previous top options included an inexperienced Daniel Zamora and non-roster invitee Luis Avilan. It’s possible that one or both of those southpaws will still pitch alongside Wilson in the ’pen, but the veteran Wilson will help to solidify the area of need and provide plenty of strikeouts along the way.

Wilson is coming off an up-and-down tenure with the Cubs, with whom he posted a strong 3.41 ERA and averaged 11.4 K/9 last season. While control was an issue early in his Cubs tenure, he righted the ship in that regard over the course of the 2019 season; after walking 30 hitters in his first 26 1/3 innings as a Cub, Wilson regained his control and issued a vastly more manageable 22 walks in his final 46 innings of work in ’18. Left-handed batters, in particular, struggled against Wilson this past season, hitting just .188/.301/.342. He’s been far more than a specialist throughout his career, however, holding right-handed opponents to a .210/.305/.323 line in parts of seven Major League seasons.

The addition of Wilson is the third notable pickup for the Mets and new GM Brodie Van Wagenen this winter, as they’ve previously acquired Edwin Diaz in a blockbuster trade with the Mariners and re-signed Jeurys Familia to a three-year, $30MM contract as well. That newly acquired trio (re-acquired — in Familia’s case) will be joined by righties Seth Lugo and Robert Gsellman in anchoring what should be an improved Mets bullpen in 2019.

With the signing, Wilson becomes the tenth free-agent reliever to sign a multi-year contract this offseason and the second to do so with the Mets (joining Familia). Adding an annual $5MM salary to the mix will push the Mets’ payroll a bit further north. While they’ll technically be on the hook for upwards of $163MM in 2019, they’ll also receive substantial compensation from insurance policies on both David Wright and Yoenis Cespedes. At present, including the Wilson signing and the insurance money they’ll recoup from Wright and Cespedes, the Mets project to a roughly $149MM payroll, per Roster Resource’s Jason Martinez.

Relief Market Notes: Kimbrel, Brach, Axford

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With Adam Ottavino leaving the board today, only one of the top nine relievers on MLBTR’s top 50 free agent list — the top member of that group, of course — remains unsigned. That seems to set the stage for the next tier of the relief market to kick into action. Cody Allen, Bud Norris, and Brad Brach all earned placements on our ranking but remain unsigned. Other still-unsigned veteran pen arms warranted honorable mention status: Justin Wilson, Ryan Madson, Oliver Perez, Adam Warren, and Tony Sipp. I recently broke down those and other names that are still available.

Here’s the latest on the relief market:

  • The Red Sox are continuing to tamp down expectations of a move to add a closer. As Chris Cotillo of MassLive.com writes, president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski referred to free agent closer Craig Kimbrel’s Boston tenure in the past tense in comments today. He also suggested the team feels comfortable with its existing options to handle the ninth inning, naming Matt Barnes, Ryan Brasier, Tyler Thornburg, and Steven Wright as possibilities. Needless to say, that’s an interesting foursome for the defending World Series champs to propose as a slate of Kimbrel successor candidates. If there’s still a chance of a reunion with the all-time great reliever, Dombrowski didn’t hint at it. “Sometimes, you have to evaluate where you’re going to spend your dollars,” he said. “We decided to keep back the rest of the core of the club. We like our team a great deal and we think some of the guys internally can do the job. Can we get better? Perhaps. But we’ll see what takes place.”
  • With no future commitments to speak of and a path to contention, the Twins seem to be a team to watch on the market. If nothing else, the club figures to bolster its pitching staff. The aforementioned Brad Brach is among the possible targets, according to LaVelle E. Neal III of the Star Tribune (Twitter link). The Minnesota front office has certainly shown an inclination to limit its risks in free agency, and it stands to reason that Brach will be available for a lesser and shorter commitment than many of the hurlers that have gone off the board already. The 32-year-old had something of a messy 2018 season after a string of productive campaigns, which could make him a nice value proposition.
  • Veteran reliever John Axford is making no secret of his desire to return to the Blue Jays for the coming season, as Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet.ca writes. With his family rooted in Toronto, the Canadian hurler says it’s where he’d like to be. Axford’s pitch is that he’d be a good mentor for a young team — and, perhaps, will again turn into a summer trade asset. There’s certainly an argument to be made that Axford would be a good fit, particularly if he’s again willing to take a minor-league deal. As Nicholson-Smith notes, Axford is delivering plenty of heat with his fastball, and the Jays still appear in need of some pitching depth.

6 To 7 Teams Interested In Justin Wilson

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With left-hander Zach Britton having come off the free-agent market Saturday, Justin Wilson is arguably the most desirable southpaw reliever available. Interest in Wilson is high, as Bob Nightengale of USA Today reports six to seven teams are vying for him.

The Mets are the only known team who have eyed Wilson, a 31-year-old who has been largely effective since he cracked the majors with the Pirates in 2012. Also a former Yankee, Tiger and Cub, Wilson has tossed upward of 50 innings in each of his six full big league seasons, and has notched a 3.33 ERA/3.30 FIP with 9.88 K/9, 4.03 BB/9 and a 46.4 percent groundball rate. Along the way, Wilson has been useful against both left- and right-handed hitters, having held the former to a .239/.319/.345 line and the latter to an even worse mark (.210/.305/.323).

Unfortunately for Wilson, he hit the market at a somewhat inopportune time, as he wasn’t at top form over the previous two seasons. While Wilson prevented runs at a solid clip (3.43 ERA/3.51 FIP in 112 2/3 frames) and struck out hitters at an even more impressive rate (11.9 per nine), his control and groundball numbers took significant steps backward. Wilson walked 5.43 batters per nine in each of those seasons and, after generating grounders 54.9 percent of the time in 2016, fell into the mid-30s from 2017-18. Still, though, the hard-throwing Wilson has seldom been prone to the home run ball, and he has limited damaging contact by posting a double-digit infield fly percentage in each of his seasons.

Bullpen Rumors/Notes: Kimbrel, Red Sox, Phillies, Warren, Wilson, Mets, Angels

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Some more rumblings on the market for relievers…

  • Prior to this afternoon’s agreement between the Phillies and righty David Robertson, WEEI’s Rob Bradford offered a bit of clarity on the market for Craig Kimbrel. As of this morning, the star closer’s market “seemed to hinge” on whether or not the Phillies would be able to secure the services of either Bryce Harper or Manny Machado. Either signing, it seemed, would move Kimbrel off the table for Philadelphia, though today’s inking of Robertson may have done just that. Boston, then, seems a clear favorite for the 30-year-old fireballer, with Atlanta still lurking at the fringes, but the “stupid-money”-wielding Fightins can’t entirely be ruled out.
  • The Mets have some interest in right-hander Adam Warren, reports SNY’s Andy Martino (Twitter links), but a match between the two sides doesn’t appear to be that likely at the moment. Warren, according to Martino, has stronger interest from other clubs, and the Mets are exploring several different bullpen options, including left-hander Justin Wilson. The 31-year-old Warren has a 2.72 ERA in 109 innings across the past two seasons and is accustomed to pitching in multi-inning stints in relief, thus making him an appealing option for many clubs. Wilson, meanwhile, has posted solid ERA marks and huge strikeout totals over the past couple of seasons but has seen his control of the strike zone completely evaporate (5.43 BB/9).
  • Per Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic, the Angels “prefer” to assemble bullpen pieces of the low-cost variety. With hardly a household name in the bunch, early-offseason speculation abounded with respect to Los Angeles and top-market pen arms, but signings of the type don’t appear to be in the cards for Billy Eppler and crew this offseason. Top 2018 perfomer Jose Alvarez has already been shipped to Philadelphia, so the Angels will likely rely on some assortment of Taylor Cole, Luis Garcia, Ty Buttrey, Hansel Robles, Cam Bedrosian, and Justin Anderson (all of whom, save for Robles during his stint with the Mets, excelled at limiting the homer last season) to hold down the team’s fort in the late innings.

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