Bryse Wilson had a fantastic debut for the Chicago Cubs, tossing 4.1 scoreless innings in the team’s series finale against the Milwaukee Brewers back on June 28. It was a much-needed effort for the Cubs, who at the time only had four healthy starting pitchers on their entire 40-man roster. However, Wilson was crushed in his second appearance, allowing seven runs on eight hits in a 17-1 loss to the St. Louis Cardinals. The very next day the Cubs designated Wilson for assignment, making room for right-handed pitcher Jake Woodford.
A few days ago, the Milwaukee Brewers signed Wilson to a minor-league deal, and you just know he’s going to be a stud with them in the second half, like he was in his best MLB season in 2023. Meanwhile, Woodford didn’t pitch for the Cubs until Friday night, and well, it was a disaster.
Woodford gave up three runs in the seventh inning to the Cincinnati Reds, who won 4-0 in the series opener against the Cubs. The thing about Woodford is that in his age-29 season, he’s continued to get big-league opportunities despite minimal success.
He started his MLB career with the Cardinals in 2020, and over four seasons, he posted a 4.29 ERA, backed by uninspiring numbers. The right-handed pitcher had a 15.1 K% and an 8.0 BB%; opposing hitters posted a .266 batting average against him, and Woodford allowed more than a home run per nine innings. In 2024, he only made it into two games with the White Sox and seven more with the Pittsburgh Pirates. Last year, Woodford had a 6.44 ERA in 36.1 innings with the Arizona Diamondbacks.
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Interestingly enough, the Brewers, a team that seemingly gets the most out of the least, gave him a shot this year, but even they couldn’t improve Woodford’s results, as he was DFA’d by Milwaukee in early June after posting a 6.94 ERA over 23.1 innings.
On paper, the Cubs booted Wilson, who was great to decent in 2023-24, to bring in Woodford, who has been terrible since 2023. Dating back to his final year with the Cardinals, Woodford posted a 6.83 ERA, 14.6 K%, 1.68 WHIP, and an opponent batting average of .308. Despite being a ground-ball pitcher, he still gave up 23 home runs in 142.1 innings.
I understand that the Cubs were, and still are, in dire need of available arms, but dumping Wilson for Woodford already looks awful.
Back in 2023, Wilson had the best season of his MLB career, posting a 2.58 ERA in 53 games. In 23 of those outings for the Brewers, Wilson recorded at least four outs, and he also pitched at least two innings 17 times.
Wilson came up as a starting pitcher with the Atlanta Braves, but he never held on to a role in the big leagues. He finally got more opportunities in 2021, getting 16 starts between the Braves and the Pirates, followed by another 20 starts in 2022. The numbers weren’t good, and Counsell found a way to get Wilson on the right track by getting him into favorable situations as a multi-inning reliever in Milwaukee.
In 2026, Wilson is stretched out as a starter, making 11 starts in Triple-A for the Phillies farm system. In 54.1 innings, Wilson has a 23.8 K% with a 6.29 ERA but a 4.05 FIP.
Throughout his MLB career, Wilson has fared much better out of the bullpen than as a starter, with a 3.97 ERA in 201.2 innings as a reliever compared to a 5.44 ERA in 261.1 innings as a starter.
