The White Sox have outrighted right-hander Bryse Wilson to Triple-A Charlotte, according to a report from James Fegan of Sox Machine earlier today. Wilson was designated for assignment earlier this week and evidently cleared waivers in the following days.
Wilson, 27, signed on with Chicago on a major league deal this past winter when he hit free agency after being outrighted off of the Brewers’ 40-man roster. A former top-100 prospect who had bounced between Atlanta, Pittsburgh, and Milwaukee and had significant success as a pure reliever with the Brewers back in 2023, it was understandable for the Sox to jump at the chance to bring him in on a one-year, $1.05MM deal this winter. The White Sox did not return Wilson to the full-time relief role he had previously found success in, however, and instead used him as a swing man.
It was not a decision that went over especially well. Wilson immediately struggled after giving up his first run of the year during a three-inning outing on April 4, and went on to post a 7.33 ERA across his next 43 innings before being designated for assignment and outrighted off the club’s roster back in June. While he was briefly brought back to the majors after Aaron Civale was claimed off waivers by the Cubs, his two scoreless innings of work evidently weren’t enough to wash away his deep struggles from earlier in the season and he was designated for assignment once again shortly thereafter.
While Wilson certainly had the opportunity to elect free agency rather than stick around the organization, it’s worth noting that he would’ve forfeited the remainder of his 2025 salary by doing so due to having less than five years of MLB service time. Wilson could be retained via arbitration if added back to the 40-man roster before the end of the season, but the most likely outcome is that he’ll simply head back into free agency this winter. After posting an ugly 6.65 ERA with the White Sox this year, it seems likely that Wilson will be limited to minor league deals.
Perhaps Wilson’s next season could be a more fruitful one if his next club opts to keep him in a pure relief role. Of the 35 earned runs Wilson has allowed with Chicago this year, 27 of them were in outings where he pitched more than two innings. That works out to a 7.36 ERA allowed in outings lasting longer than two frames, even worse than his season-long numbers. As previously mentioned, Wilson’s best season being with the Brewers in 2023, for whom he never threw more than 53 pitches in an outing. By contrast, Wilson threw more pitches than that in eight of his 20 appearances with the White Sox this year.
Whatever lies ahead for Wilson, he’ll be a non-roster depth pitcher for the White Sox in the short-term. Chicago currently has Tyler Alexander and Tyler Gilbert pitching in long relief roles, with arms like Jonathan Cannon and Sean Burke on the 40-man roster as potential options to come up and help out if needed. That leaves Wilson fairly buried on the depth chart, though it’s possible the club will keep Cannon and Burke in the minors through the end of the season for development purposes.