Pitcher is back where he started
Reliever Wilhelmsen returns to Brewers
Tom Wilhelmsen is going to get his chance to pitch for the Milwaukee Brewers after all, it would seem.
Fifteen years after the Brewers drafted him, the big reliever is returning to the organization on a minor-league deal. The signing was first reported by mlb.com and Wilhelmsen confirmed it later Tuesday with this tweet:
“Happy to be back where it all started! Full circle indeed!”
The Brewers had not made the deal official but it was believed Wilhelmsen will report to Class AAA Colorado with the intent on coming up to the majors as soon as he is deemed ready. He was released by Arizona last Friday.
The Brewers drafted Wilhelmsen in the seventh round in 2002 out of high school in Tucson, Ariz. He was pitching the next year at Class A Beloit at age 19 when he failed two drug tests for marijuana. Wilhelmsen was suspended for the entire 2004 and decided the next spring to quit baseball.
He returned home to Tucson and took a job tending bar, where he met future wife Cassie and decided to travel the world. But he got the baseball bug again in 2009 and played for the Tucson Toros of the independent Golden Baseball League before scheduling a workout with hopes of rejoining the Brewers.
But Wilhelmsen suffered a pinched nerve in his neck and couldn’t throw so the Brewers released him that August. In 2010, he was signed by Seattle general manager Jack Zduriencik, who was Milwaukee’s amateur scouting director when Wilhelmsen was drafted.
Wilhelmsen, 33, became a valuable reliever for the Mariners, going 11-11 with a 3.01 ERA and 68 saves in 267 games from 2011-’15. He was then traded to Texas, returned the next year to Seattle and signed before this season with Arizona.
The Diamondbacks released Wilhelmsen after he posted a 4.44 ERA in 27 appearances with a 1.405 WHIP. Still a hard thrower at 6-foot-6, 220 pounds, he is joining an organization that has had bullpen issues at the bigleague level for some time.
Villar ready to play: After a second consecutive day of pre-game drills, second baseman Jonathan Villar was deemed ready to go on a minor-league rehab assignment, with the details to be worked out. Villar has been on the DL for 11 days with a lower back strain.
“He’s ready to go out on rehab,” Counsell said. “There are some weather issues with Colorado Springs, so we’re still trying to work that out. He did everything today and it went well, so he’s ready physically.”
Ryan Braun, however, has stalled somewhat in his return from a calf strain that put him on the DL for the second time this season on May 26. Braun has done on-field activities for several days but hasn’t been able to get over the last hurdle.
“We’ve progressed to the point where we’re doing a pre-game workout but we haven’t got past the point where he’s able to run on the field and not be thinking about his calf. That’s the last step.”
He can defend, too: Newcomer Eric Sogard has been an offensive revelation since joining the Brewers in mid-May, compiling a .458 on-base percentage and taking over the leadoff spot in the lineup. But he has acquitted himself well in the field, also, particularly at second base since taking over for the injured Villar.
“He’s a good defender,” Counsell said. “That’s what he has always been solid at, particularly at second base. So, I was expecting him to be a good defender. He’s a very good athlete and he has shown that several times over the last couple of weeks.
“He’s a good second baseman and he has made plays that show it. He didn’t play last year (because of knee surgery. He came off a pretty serious injury. Now, he has been healthy and doing well. We’ve got to make sure we keep him in that spot.”
Sogard made his 16th start at second base in the second game against the Pirates and also has started six times at short, twice at third and once in left field. He had committed one error in 32 games.
The hot hand: Counsell has shared time behind the plate almost equally between Manny Piña and Jett Bandy this season but Piña has played a bit more of late while Bandy battles a tough slump. Bandy is hitless in his last 23 at-bats and 1-for-37, dropping his overall average to .213.
“Manny’s been swinging the bat really well, so you keep him in there,” Counsell said. “The funny thing is that I really think it happened to Jett because he hit the ball hard and didn’t get hits. That’s how slumps happen.
“That’s unfortunate but he’ll get going again.”