Seriously, what is going on with Brian Wilson? Why is he basically worthless now?

[RedTruck]

The Mets were talking with Brian Wilson agent..regarding..a MINOR LEAGUE deal..da heck?

I know he's coming off Tommy John and all that...but he has a 2.50 ERA, with 122 Saves his past 3 seasons...and he's only 30 to boot. I mean he's not some joe shmoe, he has legit talent as a pitcher.

So why is everyone so, "um, hey brian, uh, how about a spring training invite?"

I mean whats going on here?

[jhiller21]

Maybe it has something to do with his beard strength declining.

Honestly though, signing a pitcher who's had TJ is always a risk. Arredondo came back throwing 4-5 mph less, but still has an effective sinker. Who knows what Wilson is going to do when he comes back? Sometimes they end up throwing harder, sometimes they can't find the plate or throw hard anymore. It's a crapshoot.

[Sir Luke]

This is his second TJ. Two Tommy John's on a pitcher who lived and died on his fastball is not exactly promising.

[GotHeeeeem]

I'm guessing his velocity is really low or something else is wrong because pitchers coming off TJ surgery with previous success still usually sign pretty good deals. Ryan Madson for example.

I've also heard he only wants to close. No setup, middle relief, ect in his plan.

Even though the Reds pen is pretty good at the moment I wouldn't mind the Reds to take a chance on him if they could lock him up for a few seasons cheap.

[Old NDN]

I would think some teams don't want the distraction of his "act"/beard that comes with that hefty price tag he's asking. No doubt he had talent at one time. Just not sure he's worth the risk now.

[GotHeeeeem]

I would think some teams don't want the distraction of his "act"/beard that comes with that hefty price tag he's asking. No doubt he had talent at one time. Just not sure he's worth the risk now.

I hate the whole "distraction" claim in sports. None of his teammates are going to be thinking of his beard or him at all when they are in the batters box, running down a ball in the outfield, or making their next pitch.

"Oh here is the fastball! damn Wilson's beard! SLIDER! Damn you Brian I can't play like this!!!!!!!!!!!!"

You could argue Brandon Phillips is a worse distraction.

[Beatlessp]

I hate the whole "distraction" claim in sports. None of his teammates are going to be thinking of his beard or him at all when they are in the batters box, running down a ball in the outfield, or making their next pitch.

"Oh here is the fastball! damn Wilson's beard! SLIDER! Damn you Brian I can't play like this!!!!!!!!!!!!"

You could argue Brandon Phillips is a worse distraction.

IDK about BP being more of a distraction....Wilson is just....ODD...as in a very very odd man...BP is kinduv a goofball that's having fun doing what he loves for a living. I agree with your point though...how much can any one person's off the field antics distract a professional team? Now, if those antics are disrupting practices or team meetings, that's a different story

[NCCardfan]

IDK about BP being more of a distraction....Wilson is just....ODD...as in a very very odd man...BP is kinduv a goofball that's having fun doing what he loves for a living. I agree with your point though...how much can any one person's off the field antics distract a professional team? Now, if those antics are disrupting practices or team meetings, that's a different story

^^^^^^^^^^^^This x 1,000 ^^^^^^^^^^^^^

BP is out there having a blast, the 2010 deal IMO was him laying loose in an interview and a reporter making sure he printed it just to sell papers &/or get website hits not thinking about how it was going to play out.

Brian Wilson is a 1 pitch guy that's blown his arm up twice now - and ....ODD....

No comparison between the two & Wilson truly is a crapshoot player at this point IMO.

[Maldez]

I think the fear is he'll eventually want to get the Beach Boys back together again and leave some ball team in the lurch.

[alwaysawarrior]

I would think he would be worth a minor league contract for sure to see what he has left in the tank. If he flops oh well. If he has anything left you've got a guy with some postseason experience on the cheap.

[NCCardfan]

I would think he would be worth a minor league contract for sure to see what he has left in the tank. If he flops oh well. If he has anything left you've got a guy with some postseason experience on the cheap.

I think the OP was asking something like:

"Is Brian Wilson so washed up that nobody would give him a ML contract so he had to get a minor league deal with an invite?"

That's the way I understood it, and it's scary that 3 seasons after being 'the guy' in SF he's stuck taking a minor league deal. Having to go to the Mets is also a step down in the NL pecking order to me, does this mean he couldn't even get a deal with teams like HOU, COL, SD, KC to be on their 25 man?

Did anyone hear about the doctor finding something during the 2nd Tommy John that has plummeted his value like that? Just asking

[Beatlessp]

I think the 2nd TJ in and of itself is enough to scare teams away. TJ itself has become 'just another surgery' unlike years passed.....but a second is still shaky territory for any pitcher i think

[Cicero2.0]

I think the fear is he'll eventually want to get the Beach Boys back together again and leave some ball team in the lurch.

:laugh:
I was going to say it was because of the pot references in Kokomo but you beat me to the punch.