Wilson, 28 in December, has spent his career as both a starter and reliever. He played in 163 games over the past eight seasons in the big league, including 57 starts, playing for Atlanta, Pittsburgh, Milwaukee and the White Sox. He has logged 461 innings over those eight seasons, which equates to 4.82 earned runs per nine. His strikeout rate of 16.6% is quite low, but he has limited walks to a 7.5% clip.
He has had a difficult season. He signed a one-year contract worth $1.05 million with the White Sox. He had just been let go by the Brewers and was presumably hoping that a contract with a rebuilding club would give him the avenue to take on a nice role and showcase his abilities. Instead, he posted a 6.65 ERA over 47 1/3 innings. He received unclaimed waivers twice during the year. While in the minors, he got better grades. He pitched 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 fill a swing role, getting multiple innings out of the bullpen with occasional spot starts. They signed Spencer Turnbull for a role like this in 2024 and Joe Ross by 2025.
As of this moment, the Phillies have a rotation that consists of Zack Wieler, Christopher Sanchez, Jesus Luzardo, Aaron Nola And Taijuan hiker. It’s possible Wheeler will start on the injured list in 2026 as he recovers from surgery for thoracic outlet syndrome. While he’s gone, prospect Andreas Schilder 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 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, they need someone else to step up. Wilson could potentially take a rotation spot and then find himself in long relief when Painter works his way in or Wheeler or whoever gets healthy.
Wilson is out of options, meaning he can’t easily be sent to the minors. However, he has less than five years of service in the big league. That means if he has a 40-man roster by the end of the year, the Phils could decide to keep him through arbitration beyond 2026.
Photo courtesy of Patrick Gorski, Imagn Images
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