The Tampa Bay Rays fascination with the knuckle ball continues as they have interest in signing Brian Wilson, who is attempting to resurrect his career with the pitch.
Wilson became a house hold name following his domination in the playoffs for the San Francisco as their closer, with fans chanting ‘fear the beard’ whenever he came to the mound.
Tim Brown of Yahoo Sports broke the news of Wilson’s comeback attempt with this shocking tweet of a beardless Wilson.
No beard, no spin... pic.twitter.com/jduVacBBMA
— Tim Brown (@TBrownYahoo) February 8, 2017
Wilson started his major league career in 2006 with the Giants, and he enjoyed success until the 2012 season when he would have to undergo the second Tommy John Surgery of his career. Once healthy, he sided with the Los Angeles Dodgers, but after a decent showing in 2013, he struggled in 2014 and was eventually released. He hasn’t pitched since.
The Rays have taken an interest in the knuckle ball over the past year, bringing Charlie Haegar as a pitching coordinator, as well as Jeff Powell, Dan Johnson, and Eddie Gamboa to actually throw the pitch with Gamboa actually making into a major league game for the Rays.
Wilson has thrown the pitch competitively before, here he is tossing it to current Ray, Brad Miller.
Wilson, if signed, will likely be brought in with a minor league deal and an invite to major league spring training to compete for a spot in the Rays bullpen.