Wilson, 36, appeared in parts of ten MLB seasons but just passed the threshold of one thousand career plate appearances. He was only a .203/.258/.304 hitter in the majors … which only serves to amplify the degree to which he was regarded for his work as a backstop.

It was once an annual tradition around these parts to cover the many minor moves involving Wilson. Those days are over. But he’s likely to return to MLBTR’s pages before long as a managerial or coaching candidate in the majors. Wilson has long been posited as a future skipper and will launch right into that career path now that his playing career is over.

Upon breaking into the bigs in 2008 with the Angels, Wilson kicked off a five-year run in which he appeared consistently with one team. He went on a journeyman run thereafter, spending time in the majors with the Rangers, Rays, Tigers, Twins, and Diamondbacks in addition to minor-league stints with the Yankees and Dodgers.

Here are the position players that have recently taken to the open market, along with their now-former teams (via the International League and PCL transactions pages):

• Jim Adduci, OF, Cubs
• Aaron Altherr, OF, Mets
• Rob Brantly, C, Phillies
• Wilkin Castillo, C, Marlins
• Isaac Galloway, OF, Marlins
• Dustin Garneau, C, Athletics
• Juan Graterol, C, Reds
• Gorkys Hernandez, OF, Red Sox
• Oscar Hernandez, C, Red Sox
• Rafael Lopez, C, Braves
• Deven Marrero, INF, Marlins
• Peter O’Brien, OF, Marlins
• Jace Peterson, IF/OF, Orioles
• Yadiel Rivera, 3B, Marlins
• JB Shuck, OF, Pirates
• Jesus Sucre, C, Orioles
• Blake Swihart, C/OF, Diamondbacks
• Beau Taylor, C, Athletics
• Charlie Tilson, OF, White Sox
• Bobby Wilson, C, Tigers

The Tigers are clearing out Wilson to make room for catcher prospect Jake Rogers, whom they’re poised to select from Toledo, McCosky reports. A third-round pick of the Astros in 2016, Rogers joined the Tigers a year later as part of their return for ace Justin Verlander.

The 24-year-old Rogers is known for his defensive prowess, but he raked at the Double-A level this season en route to a promotion to Triple-A ball. Since joining Toledo’s roster, Rogers has batted .223/.321/.458 (95 wRC+) with nine home runs in 191 plate appearances. In its most recent assessment of the Tigers’ farm system, Baseball America (subscription link) rated Rogers as the organization’s 13th-best prospect and wrote that he could “help Detroit in the near future.”

There is a realistic path to plenty of immediate playing time for Rogers, as Wilson, John Hicks and the now-injured Grayson Greiner have all endured horrific offensive seasons. Tigers catchers have combined for a league-worst 30 wRC+, meaning they’ve been about as useful at the plate as many pitchers. No Detroit backstop has been worse with the bat than Wilson, owner of a .091/.130/.114 line (minus-41 wRC+) in 47 plate appearances since the team promoted him to take Greiner’s place in mid-June. While the well-traveled 36-year-old has never been much of a hitter, the Tigers certainly expected better than what they’ve gotten from Wilson.

The 26-year-old Greiner has gotten off to a dismal start at the plate in his first season as the Tigers’ starting catcher. He owns a .162/.231/.279 line (35 wRC+) with five home runs and 57 strikeouts against 13 walks over 169 PA. Behind the plate, Greiner has thrown out a solid 29 percent of would-be base stealers while earning roughly neutral grades as a blocker and framer.

Wilson, 36, will see his first action in Detroit since 2016, when he totaled 13 at-bats with the club. He spent last season in Minnesota, which had been the latest stop in a nomadic major league career, and then joined the Tigers prior to the current campaign. Wilson has hit an unimpressive .208/.264/.313 (56 wRC+) in exactly 1,000 major league PA, though he’s known as a quality defender.

The demotion of Carpenter is notable considering he’s tied for fourth on the Tigers in starts this season. A few of those performances have been disastrous, though, evidenced by the 28-year-old Carpenter’s 8.82 ERA/7.04 FIP in 32 2/3 innings. He toed the rubber for the seventh time of the year Friday and had another night to forget. The Indians roughed Carpenter up for eight runs (six earned) on eight hits and four walks in just three innings, leading the Tigers to demote him to the minors.

Wilson entered spring training on a minor league deal, hoping to earn a roster spot as the Tigers’ backup catcher. However, he wound up the odd man out with Hector Sanchez, John Hicks, and Cameron Rupp all in the mix for that same role. Wilson, then, was released yesterday after falling short in that position battle.

Today, though, Wilson will be back with the Tigers on another minor league agreement and will begin the season at the Triple-A level. It’s unclear whether there is a realistic path to significant Major League playing time for Wilson, who remains behind the aforementioned catchers on the Tigers’ depth chart.

Last season, the 35-year-old Wilson got his first taste of the big leagues since 2016, when he appeared with the Rays, Rangers, and Tigers. With the Twins in 2018, Wilson posted an underwhelming .178/.242/.281 slash line in 47 games. However, the veteran is respected not for his bat, but his defensive abilities and game-calling.

In another move, the Tigers have also released catcher Bobby Wilson, as per Anthony Fenech of the Detroit News (Twitter link).  Multiple Tigers beat reporters noted earlier today that Wilson’s locker at the club’s Spring Training complex had been cleared out.  Beckham and Wilson were both in camp on minor league contracts, vying to win jobs on a Detroit team with needs to fill at both the utility infield and backup catcher positions.

Beckham enjoyed a big spring at the plate, and is now set to appear in an eleventh MLB season for his sixth different franchise.  Picked eighth overall by the White Sox in the 2008 draft, Beckham has spoken openly about the pressures he faced early in his career to live up to that top-prospect billing, as his career began to move along more of a journeyman path.  He even considered retirement if he hadn’t made the Tigers’ roster this spring, though that appears to be a moot point now that he’ll suit up for Opening Day.

Beckham appeared in just 33 Major League games over the last two seasons, spending most of his time in the Mariners’ minor league system.  The 32-year-old has a .329/.302/.366 slash line over 3542 career plate appearances, though his biggest role will be to provide backup at second base and third base.  (Beckham could also fill in at shortstop in a pinch, with a handful of games at the position over his career.)

With rookie Grayson Greiner in line for regular catching duty in Detroit, the Tigers brought veterans Wilson and Hector Sanchez into camp to provide competition for the backup job, as ostensible backup John Hicks will also be getting some time at first base.  Cameron Rupp was also acquired from the Giants a few weeks ago, which seems to have left Wilson out of the mix.

Wilson appeared in 47 games for Minnesota last season, his first taste of big league action since 2016 (when he played for the Rays, Rangers, and the Tigers in an earlier stint).  A veteran of nine MLB seasons, Wilson has been known more for his defense and game-calling abilities than his bat, with just a .208/.264/.313 slash line over an even 1000 PA.

Coleman tossed 51 1/3 frames in the majors for the rebuilding Tigers last year, working to a 3.51 ERA. Despite the good results, Coleman was outrighted after the season, as the club recognized that his underlying mix of 7.2 K/9 and 4.2 BB/9 did not portend the kind of success that would warrant an arbitration deal. The seven-year MLB vet should compete for a bullpen job in camp.

As for Wilson, the 35-year-old has appeared in nine MLB seasons over his career, though he has only ever recorded more than two hundred plate appearances with a single club in one of those (2012 with the Angels). He has compiled exactly one thousand plate appearances, over which he owns a less-than-enticing .208/.263/.313 slash line. Of course, Wilson’s appeal lies not in his bat but in his sturdy reputation behind the dish. He could conceivably crack the Opening Day roster but seems most likely to take up residence at Triple-A.

Scivicque, 25, is still looking for his first shot at the bigs. He was a fifth-round pick of the Detroit org back in 2015. He returned to the organization in 2018 after a stint with the Braves that began when he was sent to Atlanta via trade. Scivicque has a .667 career OPS in both 305 Double-A plate appearances and 218 trips to the plate at the highest level of the minors.

That leaves Eaves, who’s likewise slated for a return to the Tigers organization. The 25-year-old had a nice offensive season in 2017 but scuffled last year, slashing just .198/.283/.298 in 377 plate appearances in the upper minors. He was originally an Angels draft pick who came to Detroit in a 2016 swap.

To create space on their 40-man roster, the Cubs announced, righty Cory Mazzoni was designated for assignment.

This deal involves a pair of catchers whose careers to date share quite a few similarities. Clearly, the Chicago organization preferred Wilson to Gimenez — at least, that is, at this point in the season.

Truthfully, there isn’t a ton that separates the two on the stat sheet. Both are 35 years of age and known for their positive clubhouse presence. Wilson and Gimenez have respectively, appeared in nine and ten MLB seasons while taking a grand total of 1,000 and 1,033 plate appearances. At the time of the trade, they had each spent time in the majors with six different clubs — several of them in common (Rangers, Rays, Twins, and now Cubs).

Though Gimenez has the advantage in the hitting department over the course of his career, he has endured a dreadful season at the plate. He didn’t produce at all in a dozen MLB games with the Cubs earlier in the year and is batting a meager .204/.282/.303 in 227 Triple-A plate appearances.

Wilson, certainly, hasn’t impressed the Chicago brass with his offensive output in 2018. In 151 plate appearances for the Twins, he’s slashing just .178/.242/.281 with a pair of home runs. Instead, it’s likely his sturdy defensive reputation — in particular, as a pitch receiver — that sparked today’s move.

Regarding the injury to Castro, Antony explains that initial imaging on the catcher’s knee revealed some tearing in the meniscus, but both Twins doctors and independent doctors who were consulted agreed that Castro would be able to return this season with a minor cleanup. (His initial prognosis upon being scheduled for surgery was around six weeks.) Upon performing the surgery, however, the tearing was found to be extensive enough that without a full repair of the meniscus, Castro’s career as a catcher would’ve been in jeopardy.

It doesn’t sound as if one singular incident this season led to the issue for Castro, who has had meniscus and ACL injuries in the past. In fact, Antony notes that Castro had no issues running straight or even catching, but the knee bothered him greatly when rotating through his swing at the plate and rounding the bases. Certainly, Castro’s .143/.257/.238 slash — down from .242/.333/.388 a year prior — exemplifies the difficulties he had on offense.

Initial reports have suggested that Minnesota won’t rush out to make a significant addition behind the plate. La Velle E. Neal of the Minneapolis Star Tribune reported the other night that while the team is discussing its options, no decisions have been made (Twitter links). Neal suggested that if anything, the club could add a veteran depth piece to stash in Triple-A in order to give them further options beyond rookie Mitch Garver, now the team’s No. 1 catcher, and veteran backup Bobby Wilson.

Mike Berardino of the St. Paul Pioneer Press expressed similar views in profiling how Garver, long rated as one of the organization’s more promising prospects, is in line to receive a legitimate opportunity to show he can handle the primary job. Garver hit .291/.387/.541 with 17 homers in Triple-A last season and is off to a .254/.309/.413 start in 68 plate appearances with the Twins in 2018. Antony did nothing to suggest that Garver won’t be given a real chance, but he did indicate that the team is actively exploring the market for help.

“I would say it’s probably safe to say we’re going to have to acquire somebody, whether it’s for insurance or to be on the big league squad as a [number] one or two [option],” Antony said. “…I don’t think we’re going to sell the farm to acquire a catcher that’s not going to be an impact guy and is kind of a ’tide you over until Castro is ready next year,’ but we will look to see if we can improve our situation and our depth, definitely.”

Per Antony, the club is more confident in Garver’s bat than that of Wilson, but the Twins also believe Wilson to be a more polished defender than Garver. So while Garver seems in line to shoulder most of the load, it’s possible that Wilson sees slightly more playing time than a true backup, though surely their on-field performances will ultimately dictate the timeshare.

In the meantime, the Twins have received calls from other clubs with catchers to offer, per Antony, but conversations with those teams “have not progressed to the point where we’re deep in talks with anybody right now.”

Certainly, there are teams around the league with catching options to offer. Marlins star J.T. Realmuto was among the most oft-discussed trade candidates of the past offseason and figures to be a staple on the rumor circuit again this summer, though he’ll have an enormous price tag attached to him with two and a half years of club control remaining. Seldom-used Red Sox catcher/outfielder/first baseman Blake Swihart will also be on the rumor circuit until what feels like an inevitable trade is completed following this week’s trade request from his agent. The Rays, meanwhile, probably wouldn’t mind shedding the salary of hot-hitting Wilson Ramos while simultaneously adding a piece or two of intrigue to their minor league ranks.

As far as depth options who are unsigned at present, Miguel Montero (released by the Nationals last month), Carlos Ruiz (reportedly playing in his native Panama) and Geovany Soto are among the most notable available names.

The 30-year-old Castro hasn’t looked right at the plate this season, hitting just .143/.257/.238 leading up to last week’s placement on the disabled list. While he was hardly an offensive force for Minnesota last season, he still slashed .242/.333/.388 with 10 homers — production that was slightly above-average relative to other catchers throughout the league and a bit below the overall league average for big league hitters (by measure of wRC+). He’s earning $8MM in 2018 — the second season of a three-year, $24.5MM deal that’ll pay him $8MM once again in 2019.

With Castro on the shelf for the foreseeable future, rookie Mitch Garver should continue on as the Twins’ primary receiver behind the dish. Minnesota selected the contract of veteran Bobby Wilson last week at the time of Castro’s initial injury, but he’s likely to remain in a backup role. Garver, 27, ranked among the Twins’ top 20 prospects in 2017 before debuting late in the year. He’s hitting .250/.311/.411 with a pair of homers through 61 plate appearances so far in 2018.

Some modern-day notes from the AL Central…

• Andrew Miller is on track to return from the disabled list on Friday, Indians manager Terry Francona told MLB.com’s Jordan Bastian and other reporters, provided that Miller gets through another scheduled throwing session on Tuesday without any problems.  Miller already threw one bullpen on Saturday without any ill effects from the hamstring strain that sent him to the DL back on April 26.  Cleveland has sorely missed Miller, as the Tribe’s relievers entered play today with the third-worst bullpen ERA in the game, even before an ugly late-game collapse against the Yankees.
• It doesn’t seem like the Tigers will be making a play for recently-designated Mets starter Matt Harvey, according to Anthony Fenech of the Detroit Free Press.  Claiming or trading for Harvey would mean Detroit would take on at least a portion of the roughly $4.25MM Harvey is guaranteed for the rest of the season, which isn’t a fit for a rebuilding team.  (“We’re not here to spend more money,” manager Ron Gardenhire said.)  While the Tigers have a longstanding relationship with Harvey’s agent Scott Boras, the team has also generally shied away from acquiring players with notable off-the-field controversy, which makes it unlikely that the Tigers would pursue Harvey after his ten-day DFA period is over.
• Bobby Wilson’s minor league deal with the Twins will pay him $950K now that the veteran catcher has reached the 25-man roster, Mike Berardino of the St. Paul Pioneer Press writes.  Wilson’s past relationships with GM Thad Levine and farm director Jeremy Zoll (when Wilson played for the Rangers and Dodgers, respectively) helped him pick Minnesota ahead of other teams that approached Wilson about a minors deal last winter.  Wilson was in the starting lineup for the Twins’ 5-3 win over the White Sox today, which marked his first MLB game since 2016.  With regular starter Jason Castro on the disabled list, Wilson is in line to get a fair amount of playing time backing up Mitch Garver behind the plate.

Castro’s injury could perhaps keep him on the shelf for several weeks. For now, though, the plan is for him to avoid surgery in favor of a cortisone shot, Mike Berardino of the Pioneer Press tweets. Regardless, Castro’s DL placement continues what has been a disappointing second season in Minnesota for the lefty-hitter, who has slashed a meager .143/.257/.238 (39 wRC+) in 74 plate appearances. However, as has often been the case during his career, the 30-year-old has stood out behind the plate as a pitch framer.

With Castro, Byron Buxton and Miguel Sano on the DL and Jorge Polanco amid an 80-game suspension, the Twins will have to go without three regulars as they continue trying to dig out of an early season hole. Further, the 11-17 club is down to the uninspiring duo of Wilson and Mitch Garver as its 25-man catcher options. Wilson, 35, inked a minors deal with the Twins last offseason after spending the 2017 season at the Triple-A level with the Dodgers. He previously appeared in the majors with five teams (the Angels, D-backs, Rangers, Rays and Tigers), combining to bat .214/.268/.319 (60 wRC+) in 849 PAs.

The absence of Santana this season has been one obvious reason for the Twins’ struggles. The longtime quality starter turned in 211 1/3 innings of 3.28 ERA pitching for the playoff-bound Twins last year, but he underwent a procedure on his right middle finger Feb. 6 and hasn’t recovered as quickly as expected. Santana, 35, was originally supposed to come back within 10 to 12 weeks, which would’ve put him on track for a mid-April to early May debut. Instead, the earliest Santana will be able to take the hill for the Twins is May 28, Berardino notes.

• Joining the Orioles on a minors deal is righty Perci Garner, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (via Twitter). Soon to turn 29, Garner struggled in limited action in an injury-limited 2017 season. But he did show a 95 mph heater and 14.4% swinging-strike rate in his brief foray into the majors in 2016, and worked to a 1.83 ERA with 8.0 K/9 and 2.5 BB/9 in 78 2/3 frames in the upper minors that year. Notably, too, Garner’s innings tally came in just 41 relief appearances, suggesting that the former starter could have some multi-inning potential.
• Infielder/outfielder Jimmy Paredes has joined the KBO’s Doosan Bears, as Korea’s Naver Sports reports (Korean language link; h/t to Dan Kurtz of MyKBO.net, via Twitter). He’ll receive a $800K salary for the 2018 season. Paredes has seen just over a thousand MLB plate appearances in parts of six seasons, slashing only .251/.286/.369. He spent the 2017 campaign with Japan’s Chiba Lotte Marines, where he produced a .219/.270/.364 slash with ten home runs in 289 trips to the plate.

Earlier Updates

• The Tigers announced that they have completed their summer swap with the Cubs by acquiring cash rather than a player to be named. That deal sent Jeimer Candelario and Isaac Paredes to Detroit in exchange for veterans Justin Wilson and Alex Avila. The amount of cash that’s now changing hands isn’t known. Obviously, the key to this deal from the Tigers’ perspective was Candelario. The 24-year-old had an impressive initial showing upon reaching the majors with his new organization, slashing .330/.406/.468 in 106 plate appearances.
• Anthony Gose is joining the Rangers on a minors deal, per Anthony Fenech of the Detroit Free Press (Twitter links). He’s expected both to function as a left-handed reliever — as he did last year in the minors — and to play the outfield — as he long did previously, including at the major-league level. Gose, who’s still just 27, recorded 14 strikeouts and six walks while allowing nine earned runs in 10 2/3 innings at the High-A level in 2017. Elbow issues halted his season at that point. Though Gose never showed quite enough bat in the majors, which is why he ended up attempting the conversion, he does have a useful skillset — quality speed and defense — that would make him a hypothetically interesting roster piece if he can develop sufficiently on the mound.
• Joining the Twins on minor-league pacts are outfielder Ryan LaMarre, catcher Bobby Wilson, righty Myles Jaye, and catcher/infielder Willians Astudillo, MLB.com’s Rhett Bollinger tweets. LaMarre has reached the majors very briefly in each of the past three seasons; he spent most of last year at Triple-A with the Athletics and Angels organizations, slashing just .247/.328/.300 in 194 plate appearances. The 34-year-old Wilson, an eight-year MLB veteran, hit .243/.318/.428 for the Dodgers’ top affiliate lat year and will likely head to Rochester for depth. Jaye, who’ll soon turn 26, struggled in his first chance at the game’s highest level last year but has also compiled three consecutive sub-4.00 ERA seasons in the upper minors. The versatile Astudillo — the only member of this group that hasn’t tasted the bigs — posted great numbers in limited action at Triple-A last year but is a lifetime .750 OPS hitter in the minors.
• The Marlins have added righty Drew Rucinski on a minors deal, per SB Nation’s Chris Cotillo (Twitter link). Rucinski, who turns 29 at the end of December, has seen minimal action in three MLB campaigns. He transitioned to full-time relief in 2017 for the first time since his earliest work in the low minors, with fairly promising results. In 63 frames at Triple-A, Rucinski compiled a 2.57 ERA with 8.1 K/9 and 1.4 BB/9.

A few more notes on the free-agent market…

• Nicholson-Smith also reports that the Blue Jays are continuing to hunt for a backup catcher after seeing one target, Bobby Wilson, sign a minor league contract with the Dodgers. Per Nicholson-Smith, the Blue Jays wanted to sign the 33-year-old Wilson, but he elected to sign with the Dodgers after Toronto declined to offer his camp any assurances that additional catchers would not be pursued. Among the options still on the market are Chris Iannetta, Nick Hundley, Kurt Suzuki and Jarrod Saltalamacchia, to name a few.
• The Braves are still open to adding a bench bat despite having a full 40-man roster at the moment, and both Kelly Johnson and Jeff Francoeur are possibilities, per David O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution (Twitter link). This would mark the third straight year in which the Braves signed Johnson as a free agent and his fourth overall stint with the team that originally drafted him, if an agreement is ultimately reached. It’d also represent the third stint with the Braves for Francoeur and the second consecutive offseason in which he inked a deal with Atlanta.
• The Tigers are known to be on the lookout for some help in center field, but they didn’t show interest in Ben Revere before he signed with the Angels and haven’t had any serious discussions with Austin Jackson about a return to Detroit, reports MLB.com’s Jason Beck. Last week, Anthony Fenech of the Detroit Free Press reported that the Tigers are looking for a center field option that would cost around $2MM. Jackson could fit that bill after missing the last three months of the 2016 season with a knee injury, though Beck’s report paints that as unlikely. Last week, I took a look at a few other options the Tigers could consider as well.
• Any further additions made by the Indians this winter seem likely to be low-cost in nature following the signing of Edwin Encarnacion. Cleveland GM Mike Chernoff implied to Ryan Lewis of the Akron Beacon-Journal that the team’s remaining resources are somewhat limited. “Obviously with a commitment like this, we couldn’t bring either [Mike Napoli] or [Rajai Davis] back at the dollars they would have cost,” said Chernoff. “Raj gave us a huge amount last year, too. You could see him potentially being a fit again with the role he had last year. I think we have a lot of internal pieces that can fill some of those spots.” Davis signed a one-year, $6MM deal with Oakland last week, so Chernoff’s suggestion that he was too expensive could well signal that any final additions will be rather minimal in nature. As Lewis further notes, that could lead to a bit less depth in the outfield and on other areas of the roster than Cleveland brass would otherwise prefer.

The 33-year-old Wilson, a client of Jet Sports, split the 2016 season between the Tigers, Rangers and Rays, batting a collective .237/.270/.355 with seven homers in 251 plate appearances. Wilson has appeared in the Majors in eight of the past nine seasons, with most of his experience coming as a backup in the Angels organization. He struggled in terms of throwing out runners last year (17 percent) but has otherwise done so at a roughly league-average rate throughout his big league career. He’s also consistently drawn average or better pitch-framing marks in throughout his Major League and minor league tenure, per Baseball Prospectus. Prior to his deal with L.A., Wilson had been connected to both the Blue Jays and the Rays.

The Dodgers are largely set at catcher in the Majors, with Yasmani Grandal and Austin Barnes set to split playing time behind the dish. Barnes does have experience as an infielder as well, though, and did play both second base and third base in the Majors last year, so perhaps there’s an opportunity for the Dodgers to creatively work all three onto the roster. Wilson may also simply head to Triple-A to serve as a veteran depth option, and he could conceivably land elsewhere this spring as injuries with other clubs create new opportunities.