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