In another roster shakeup, the White Sox claimed left-handed pitcher Brandon Eisert off waivers from the Tampa Bay Rays. To make room for Eisert on the 40-man roster, the team designated right-handed pitcher Steven Wilson for assignment in a corresponding move. Less than a year after being part of the Dylan Cease trade, Wilson’s future in Chicago is now murky.
Wilson's Place In The Cease Trade
Widely considered the fourth player in the Cease trade, Wilson’s inclusion in the deal was unique from the start. The other three players the White Sox got back in return, Drew Thorpe, Jairo Iriarte, and Samuel Zavala, were all highly regarded prospects at the time. Wilson was the exception, being a 29-year-old reliever with previous MLB experience. Some fans were skeptical about Wilson’s place in the trade from day one. After all, a rebuilding team wanting a reliever in the package for a player as desirable as Cease felt head-scratching.
However, there was some logic behind the White Sox wanting Wilson in the deal at the time. He had put up two productive seasons in the Padres bullpen in 2022 and 2023 and had four seasons of affordable team control remaining. He also had an intriguing pitch mix and underlying metrics. The goal was for him to take a high-leverage role in the 2024 White Sox bullpen, fill an immediate need on the big league team, and become a valuable trade chip himself to be traded for more prospects later.
Wilson's Disaster 2024 Season
Unfortunately, the White Sox vision for Wilson did not come to fruition. Lower back issues were an issue for him throughout the season, and his numbers took a massive nosedive as a result. His BB%, HR/9, and batting average against were all the highest of his MLB career in 2024, while his K%, first pitch strike %, and average fastball velocity were career lows. Wilson’s back issues undoubtedly impacted his 2024 season and explain why his numbers fell off a cliff compared to his time in San Diego.
Sweeper Regression
Wilson’s struggles last year were mainly because of the regression to his sweeper, his best pitch. His sweeper was traditionally his bread and butter while with the Padres, accumulating a 10 Run Value in 2023 per Baseball Savant. By comparison, his sweeper was worth a -3 Run Value in 2024 with the White Sox. Opposing batters hit .222 off that pitch in 2024 compared to just .168 in 2023. The one pitch that made him an intriguing trade target completely disappeared in terms of its effectiveness once he got to Chicago.
White Sox Spring Training Bullpen Competition
Despite his disaster 2024 campaign, the White Sox and the arbitration-eligible Wilson agreed to a $950,000 contract less than a month ago. Yet, given the immense struggles of the White Sox bullpen last season, Chris Getz has prioritized accumulating as many bullpen arms as possible. Just this offseason, the team has claimed Shane Smith in the Rule 5 draft, traded for the aforementioned Eisert along with Cam Booser, claimed Penn Murfee, and signed veterans Bryse Wilson, James Karinchak, Dan Altavila, Justin Dunn, and Jonathan Heasley in free agency. Holdovers Justin Anderson, Prelander Berroa, Fraser Ellard, Gus Varland, Jordan Leasure, and Jared Shuster will also be in the bullpen equation this spring along with a handful of reliever prospects already in the farm system. It quickly became a numbers game for Wilson on the 40-man roster, and the White Sox have indicated that they do not mind losing him.
Final Word
It is far too early to declare the Dylan Cease trade a failure from the White Sox perspective. Despite all three having flaws, Thorpe, Iriarte, and Zavala remain high-upside players. It is even possible that Steven Wilson could even stay in the White Sox organization if he clears waivers. Still, it is problematic that one of the players from the Cease trade could be out of the organization in less than a year.
