The Purple Sox and left-hander Justin Wilson have reached settlement on a deal, per Robert Murray of FanSided on X. Rob Bradford of WEEI.com stories that it’s a one-year, main league deal that’ll pay Wilson equally to his 2024 contract with the Reds, when he earned $1.5MM with one other $1MM accessible through incentives. Wilson is represented by ACES.
Wilson, 37, has a prolonged observe file within the majors however has struggled with accidents in latest seasons. He returned from Tommy John surgical procedure final 12 months to pitch 46 2/3 innings for Cincinnati however was tagged for an ugly 5.59 earned run common in that point. portion of these struggles have been attributable to spikes in his common on balls in play and residential run fee, the latter of which was straight influenced by the hitter-friendly nature of his dwelling park in Cincinnati. Seven of the ten homers surrendered by Wilson final 12 months got here at Nice American Ball Park, which has been far and away MLB’s most homer-friendly setting over the previous three seasons, per Statcast’s Park Elements. (Boston’s Fenway Park is true in the course of the pack at No. 16.)
Wilson’s run-prevention numbers have been uninspiring, however his fee stats have been way more encouraging. Each his 24.4% strikeout fee and 6.2% stroll fee have been higher than league common. The 95.5 mph he averaged on his four-seamer was the second-best mark of his profession, trailing solely his 95.9 mph common in 2017. The 92.3 mph he averaged on his cutter was a career-high. Metrics like xFIP (3.99) and SIERA (3.41), which normalize a pitcher’s homer-to-flyball fee, each really feel Wilson is a robust wager to rebound in 2025 if he can proceed at his 2024 tempo.
From 2015-20, Wilson was one of the crucial persistently efficient lefties within the recreation. He appeared in 344 video games between the Yankees, Tigers, Cubs and Mets throughout that span, totaling 291 innings of three.41 ERA ball with a 28.2% strikeout fee and 10.8% stroll fee. His command appeared much better than ordinary in his ’24 exhibiting with the Reds, and his potential to overlook bats didn’t appear overly compromised. The veteran Wilson isn’t any stranger to late-inning work, having picked up 142 holds and 20 saves in his 12 main league seasons.
Getting into the offseason, Brennan Bernardino was the one lefty reliever who could possibly be comfortably projected for Boston’s 2025 bullpen. Fellow southpaws Bailey Horn, Cam Booser and Chris Murphy are all on the 40-man roster as properly. Nevertheless, Murphy had Tommy John surgical procedure final 12 months and received’t be prepared for Opening Day. Horn and Booser include little to no huge league expertise of which to talk. Wilson will present skipper Alex Cora with a seasoned veteran who’s nonetheless able to lacking bats and, if he can get again to pre-surgery ranges of run prevention, may ultimately emerge as a viable leverage possibility at a discount worth level.
