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Brad Wilkerson

Yankees Name Brad Wilkerson Assistant Hitting Coach

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The Yankees announced Monday that Brad Wilkerson will join their MLB coaching staff in 2023 as an assistant hitting coach. Wilkerson replaces Hensley Meulens, who moved on to become the lead hitting coach with the Rockies in November.

Wilkerson played parts of eight major league seasons with the Expos/Nationals, Rangers, Mariners and Blue Jays between 2001-2008, tallying 788 hits, 122 home runs and an overall .247/.350/.440 career batting line. He was selected 33rd overall by Montreal in the 1998 MLB Draft and finished second for NL Rookie of the Year in 2002. His playing career officially came to an end in the spring of 2010, when the Phillies cut him loose from a minor league pact with a camp invite.

This will be the first MLB-affiliated coaching position for Wilkerson. He managed a middle school baseball team in 2014 and spent some time as a high school coach before joining Jacksonville University in 2020 as a baseball assistant.

The 45-year-old will work alongside lead hitting coach Dillon Lawson in New York and try to help the Bronx Bombers replicate the kind of cumulative success they achieved at the plate last season. With a combined team OPS of .751 (4th in MLB) and the second-most runs scored of all 30 major league teams, the Yankees rolled to 99 regular-season wins and the AL East title.

Brad Wilkerson Agrees To Deal With Phillies

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Outfielder Brad Wilkerson agreed to a minor league deal with the Phillies, reports Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports.  Wilkerson was thought to have retired in April of '09.

Unlike fellow minor league outfield signings Chris Duffy and Dewayne Wise, Wilkerson will not participate in the Phillies' big league camp according to MLB.com's Todd Zolecki.

Brad Wilkerson Retires

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Daniel Barbarisi of the Providence Journal writes that Brad Wilkerson has decided to retire after an eight-year Major League career.

Wilkerson, 31, signed a minor-league deal with the Red Sox this winter to compete for a job as a backup outfielder/first baseman after Mark Kotsay underwent surgery. He struggled through Spring Training, however, hitting below .200 and striking out in nearly fifty percent of his at-bats. He was assigned to AAA to begin the season, and accepted his assignment.

After his second game in AAA-Pawtucket, he informed manager Ron Johnson that he no longer had the fire and that his time in baseball was finished.

Wilkerson originally came up with the Expos in 2001. His best season was in 2004, when he hit 32 home runs and put up a line of .255/.374/.498. He finishes his career with 122 home runs, and a line of .247/.350/.440. Good luck in life after baseball, Brad.

Wilkerson Leaves Red Sox

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Rob Bradford reports that Terry Francona confirmed Brad Wilkerson's departure from the Red Sox earlier this morning.

Wilkerson, 31, was in camp on a minor-league deal, competing for the job of the fifth outfielder and backup first baseman. His contract allowed him to opt-out prior to April 1, which he elected to do after hitting just .119 through 42 ABs, with 18 strikeouts. The position battle will now likely come down to Chris Carter and Jeff Bailey, both of whom are having strong a strong Spring Training, hitting .350 and .357, respectively.

Odds & Ends: Marte, Wilkerson, Bowden

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Links for Wednesday as we enter the short post-Manny phase of the offseason…

Red Sox Rumors: Lugo, Bay, Varitek, Beckett

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The latest on the Red Sox, courtesy of WEEI’s Alex Speier.

  • Julio Lugo says he’s in the best shape of his career.  The $9MM shortstop won’t be happy if he’s on the bench this year.  Speier believes he’ll ask for a trade if he doesn’t win the competition with Jed Lowrie.  Lugo was following the Tigers trade rumors earlier this winter.
  • Jason Bay remains open to an extension, but admitted "it’s not the end-all, be-all."  Bay will be part of the 2009-10 free agent class if the Sox don’t lock him up.
  • According to the AP, catcher Jason Varitek spoke of spending the rest of his career with the Red Sox.
  • WEEI’s Rob Bradford spoke to Josh Beckett, who hopes to remain in Boston past his current contract.  The Red Sox have a $12MM club option for a $2MM buyout for 2010.
  • Bradford also reports that the Brad Wilkerson signing is official; he’s in camp on a minor league deal.

Odds & Ends: Strasburg, Red Sox Non-Roster Invitees

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Some Odds and Ends around the league:

  • In a good piece by Chico Harlan of the Washington Post, Nats GM Jim Bowden says Stephen Strasburg is "as good a pitcher as we’ve seen in the draft in 10 or 15 years." He could be in the rotation as soon as September. Amusingly, Strasburg’s mother described Scott Boras, who is advising the phenom, as a "Rottweiler."
  • WEEI’s Alex Speier lists the Red Sox 19 non-roster invitees. 13 of them have Major League experience. Brad Wilkerson is also expected to be present.
  • David Lennon of Newsday.com reports that Omar Minaya has achieved his offseason goals. "The reality is that we’ve pretty much filled all our priorities," Minaya said. "I’m set to go with this team."
  • Phil Rogers touches on the absence of interest in Frank Thomas who is not working out while he’s out of camp. Rogers notes the Players Association needs to organize a spring training camp for out-of-work players. He suggests the White Sox abandoned Tucson complex.

Red Sox To Sign Brad Wilkerson

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TUESDAY, 2:36pm: WEEI’s Alex Speier says the Wilkerson deal is done pending a physical.  He could earn as much as $2.5MM if he hits all his incentives (Tony Massarotti says $1.5MM).

MONDAY, 11:03pm: MLBTR has learned tonight that the Red Sox have signed outfielder Brad Wilkerson to a minor league deal with roster and playing time incentives.  Wilkerson, 31, hit .220/.308/.326 in 309 plate appearances for the Mariners and Blue Jays in 2008.  The Ms signed Wilkerson last year for $3MM but designated him for assignment before May.

Baseball Blogs Weigh In: Jays, Mets, Red Sox, Nats, Yankees

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On this date 32 years ago, commissioner Bowie Kuhn suspended Braves owner Ted Turner for one year for tampering. Turner had announced publicly that the Braves would sign free agent-to-be Gary Matthews. Unfortunately, 30 years later, nobody was disciplined when the Angels signed free agent Gary Matthews Jr. to a $50MM contract. In the first two years of the deal, Matthews has been paid $15MM and his play has been worth -$600K (yes, that is negative) according to Fangraphs. With several big free agents still looking for new teams, will any of them be the next Matthews Jr? Only time will tell. In the meantime, let’s see what is being written in the Blogosphere…

  • The Eddie Kranepool Society is not worried about Derek Lowe, feeling the deal will get done once the Mets add a fourth option year and sweeten the pot just a tad. They are also putting the Mets front office on notice about the possibility of letting Manny Ramirez slip through their fingers.
  • Mets Geek feels the Mets still need to add one more piece to their revamped bullpen and suggest Wil Ohman or Joe Beimel are better options as a lefty specialist than what is already in-house.
  • The Southpaw takes a look at some young players the Jays should try to target in the trade market, with Chin-Lung Hu at the top of the list.
  • My Baseball Bias is not satisfied with just Mark Teixeira and wants to see the Yankees sign Manny Ramirez.
  • Fire Brand of the American League makes a case for three players to be the Red Sox fourth outfielder, including Rocco Baldelli, Brad Wilkerson and Eric Byrnes.
  • MLB Notebook takes a look at how the Nationals could spend the $20MM that would have gone to Mark Teixeira.
  • River Ave. Blues says this offseason is proving to be a test of just how good Scott Boras can be.
  • Sully Baseball is running a series of posts breaking down each team’s all-time home grown versus all-time acquired teams. Here he looks at the Astros.

Cork Gaines writes for RaysIndex.com and can be reached here.

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