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White Sox add Bryse Wilson to innings-absorbing staff, send out Chuckie Robinson

Bryse Wilson (Photo by Larry Radloff/Icon Sportswire)

Even without having to worry about the bottom of the ninth on the road very often, the White Sox pitched over 1,400 innings last season. And whether or not sportsbooks have any confidence in their ability to win 50 games next year, a similarly onerous workload obligation looms next spring.

In that vein, a source confirmed Ken Rosenthal's report that the White Sox have agreed to a major league deal with 26-year-old right-hander Bryse Wilson, pending a physical. Rosenthal said that Wilson is receiving $1.05 million guaranteed with a potential extra quarter-million in performance incentives and a shot to win a rotation spot. As the deal became official later Wednesday afternoon, a trade of catcher Chuckie Robinson to the Angels for cash considerations was revealed to be the move that created a 40-man roster spot for Wilson.

Between this, trading for Matt Thaiss Tuesday night, signing corner infielder Andre Lipicius to a minor league deal earlier Wednesday morning and hosting introductory Zooms for Chase Meidroth and Mike Tauchman in the last two days, the White Sox are drowning in role players salvaged off the periphery of 40-man rosters. Robinson heading out adds a little exporting to their importing work, and keeps the exchange of Angels and White Sox catching -- both players and coaches -- going strong.

For a team that's essentially seeking to replace Chris Flexen's innings absorbance at the back of the rotation, Wilson fits the bill at first blush. He posted a 4.04 ERA in 104⅔ innings last season for the Brewers, giving him familiarity with bench coach Walker McKinven. After a strong 2023 campaign in the Milwaukee bullpen that saw him win the team's Unsung Hero of the Year Award (something they apparently do), Wilson was upgraded to more of a bulk role in 2024 which included nine starts in the first half.

He would have an even larger innings base to build from if not for an early September oblique strain that effectively ended Wilson's season and Brewers tenure. Wilson was set to be owed an estimated $1.5 million in arbitration per MLB Trade Rumors, and the Brewers outrighted him off the 40-man before things came to that point, which he countered by electing free agency.

Wilson's listed 272 pounds of bulk, along with a full beard and home runs being his main vice, give him a decided Lance Lynn aesthetic, but he has never wielded the same overpowering four-seamer, as his sub-20 percent strikeout rate and below-average peripherals would attest. Leaning heavily on a low-90s sinker and high-80s cutter combination that stuff models regard as below average and Pat Murphy referred to as not "overpowering," Wilson's addition prompts the question as to whether the White Sox can maintain the Brewers' success in maxing out his capabilities, rather than uncover latent upside. His curveball offers more potential from a bat-missing standpoint, but since the White Sox are seeking length and Wilson's calling card is strike-throwing -- he hasn't walked more than 7 percent of opposing hitters since 2020 -- he figures to lean further into a weak-contact profile.

As a former top-100 prospect who debuted with the Braves before his 21st birthday, Wilson struggled against left-handers in both Atlanta and Pittsburgh until the Brewers added a cutter to address his lack of a reliable changeup. The end result has been someone who truly is a fitting replacement for Flexen. A proliferation of weak fly balls characterize his most effective outings, and his postgame interviews after losses will likely center around the surplus walk that his profile cannot afford. Whether he can match Flexen's exploits on the clubhouse ping-pong table is fodder for future follow-ups.

If every new step of this offseason to date has been an unwelcome reminder of the White Sox front office's unambitious designs for the 2025 major league roster, Wilson is confirmation rather than correction. If you've been combing through Chris Getz's offseason comments and creating a mental checklist of needs -- welcome, you're among similarly damaged friends -- this is another item crossed off. In Jonathan Cannon, Drew Thorpe, Davis Martin and Sean Burke, the White Sox have four starters they can feel comfortable plugging into the 2025 rotation to work toward a better future. After that, there's a gap they had to fill, and Wilson provides literal and figurative bulk.

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