The Tigers have purchased the contract of backstop Bobby Wilson, per a club announcement. Detroit has placed starting catcher James McCann on the 15-day DL, which necessitated the move.
Wilson was just acquired in the trade that sent fellow receiver Bryan Holaday to the Rangers. It wasn’t long ago that both players seemed likely to end up in the minors to open the year, but injuries have opened up significant opportunities for both. In Wilson’s case, he’ll back up Jarrod Saltalamacchia, but ought to have reasonably plentiful chances given the new starter’s defensive questions and struggles against left-handed pitching.
McCann’s DL stint comes after he suffered an ankle sprain last night. It’s been classified as a grade 2 sprain, says manager Brad Ausmus, who expects that McCann could miss somewhere in the range of two to four weeks. (Via MLB.com’s Jason Beck, on Twitter.) It doesn’t appear that there’s much cause for longer-term concern with the injury, but Detroit obviously needed to make a quick decision to ensure it had another catcher on hand.
Even assuming that McCann isn’t out for any significant time, though, the move has consequences — particularly given that there are several lean catching situations around the game. The Tigers will need to add Wilson to the 40-man roster, for one thing. And that will likely also mean that he’ll need to be exposed to waivers when McCann is ready to return, which could open an opportunity for a new round of musical chairs.
