Tigers: Reliever Alex Wilson Earns 2020 Spring Training Invite
By Tyler Kotila
The Detroit Tigers have brought a familiar face back to the organization in the form of Alex Wilson. He will join the team on a minor league contract with a Spring Training invite for the 2020 season.
The Detroit Tigers are no stranger to Alex Wilson, who spent four seasons from 2015 to 2018 before ending up with the Milwaukee Brewers last season. The Tigers are merely patching up their bullpen by adding in Wilson; he will join a few different relievers who are looking to crack the Tigers’ big league roster. At one time, Wilson was one of the best relievers in the Tigers bullpen, even getting the chance to try and be the teams closer.
In 2019, Wilson only appeared in thirteen games, for 11.1 innings pitched with thirteen strikeouts, a 9.53 ERA, a 2.12 WHIP. He was not good whatsoever, so his 2020 trial period for Spring Training will be a chance for Wilson to get things under control.
Wilson will be thirty-three years old heading into 2020, with his last full season in the big leagues coming in 2018. His last full season treated him to fifty-nine appearances for a total of 61.2 innings pitched with a 3.36 ERA and 1.05 WHIP for the Tigers.
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Hopefully, Wilson can get back on track and become one of the strong arms the Tigers bullpen has this season. Currently, the Tigers’ best arms in the bullpen are Joe Jiménez, Buck Farmer, Jose Cisnero, and Gregory Soto.
The current closer for the Tigers is Jiménez, who was the Tigers lone all-star representative in 2018, and hopefully, he can have a better season than he did in 2019. Adding Wilson probably would let some pressure off the very few reliable arms the Tigers do have. Being that the Tigers bullpen is terrible, bringing in any relief help is going to be beneficial for the 2020 season.
It is no secret, Detroit lost 114 games in the 2019 season and were terrible, locking up first pick in this summers draft. Even with the signings, they have made this offseason in the form of Jonathan Schoop, CJ Cron, and Austin Romine; there is still a good chance they lose 100-plus games.
However, if the bullpen has even the least bit of reliability, Detroit may be able to climb out of the basement and win a few more ballgames and hopefully lose less than last season.
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All that is left is to see how Wilson performs this spring in Lakeland and hopefully earns a spot in the bullpen alongside Zack Godley, who could do the same. It is not a recipe for success or even a recipe to be fourth in the American League Central, but even being the least bit better than last year will be a fantastic step up for and organization with a clueless general manager at the helm.