Dodgers right-hander Brian Wilson has a 10.22 ERA this season, allowing 15 runs in 16 appearances while occasionally struggling to crack 90 miles per hour with his once-overpowering fastball.
That’s quite a change from last season, when Wilson returned from Tommy John surgery to throw 13.2 innings with a 0.66 ERA and convinced the Dodgers to re-sign him to a one-year, $10 million deal with an $8.5 million player option for 2015.
All of which is why manager Don Mattingly sounds worried about Wilson when talking to Steve Dilbeck of the Los Angeles Times:
You couldn’t see the velocity out there. Some of those are 88-89, stuff like that, even less. It does concern us a little bit, but then toward the end of the inning, he’s dialing it up. The other day he comes out, it’s 88-90. By the end of the inning he’s throwing 96. But there are concerns.
When asked if Wilson is injured, Mattingly replied: “He says he’s healthy.” Not exactly a ringing endorsement, especially considering he began the season on the disabled list with an elbow problem.
And that $8.5 million player option is looking like a sure thing to get picked up this offseason.
