Bobby

Wilson

This completes a 10-year MLB career for Wilson, making stops for six different teams. The 36-year-old appeared in 15 games with the Tigers this past season while batting just .091/.130/.114 through 47 plate appearances.

This move clears room on the Tigers’ 25-man and 40-man rosters for young catcher Jake Rogers, who was officially called up on Tuesday evening. Wilson was batting just .091/.130/.114 through 47 plate appearances with Detroit.

Bobby Wilson is going through the outright waivers process and will be the corresponding move. Rogers, 24, has batted .250/.361/.484 with 14 home runs between Double- and Triple-A this season and is viewed as one of the better defensive catching prospects in baseball. Ranked by MLB.com as the team’s No. 7 prospect, Rogers was acquired from the Astros two years ago in the Justin Verlander deal. He might prove to be worth a look in fantasy leagues eventually, although he’s not a terribly exciting prospect from an offensive standpoint.

The 36-year-old backstop was hitting .273/.349/.455 with four homers and nine RBI in 22 games at Triple-A Toledo. He’ll serve as the backup to John Hicks behind the plate with Grayson Greiner (back) on the shelf.

Wilson was cut loose by the Tigers on Saturday, but after exploring the other opportunities available, he opted to re-up with the Tigers. He’ll function as minor league depth behind Greyson Greiner and John Hicks.

Anthony Fenech of the Detroit Free Press reported the news. The journeyman catcher has played for eight major league teams over the past 11 seasons and owns a career .208/.264/.313 slash line with 18 home runs and 100 RBI in exactly 1000 plate appearances. He was never going to be a fantasy option even if he made the Tigers’ roster. He is a good defensive backstop and could latch on with another team as a backup option.

Wilson turns 36 in April and he’s never done much offensively, but he’s still well respected for his glove. He slots in behind Grayson Greiner on the Tigers’ depth chart at catcher for now. If the team adds a cheap starter, as seems likely, then Wilson and Greiner will battle it out for the backup role in the spring.

The Cubs obviously feel better about Wilson’s defense than Gimenez’s. It’ll be interesting to see if he’s picked over Victor Caratini to serve as the team’s backup in the postseason. Right now, though, Wilson is on the DL and is probably going to miss another week or so with an ankle sprain.

Wilson missed over a month with an ankle injury. He was acquired from the Twins in late August and will operate as the Cubs’ third catcher.

Hester was recently called up to replace Chris Iannetta (wrist) on the active roster. With Hank Conger not expected back until late-May, he’ll be forced to serve as Bobby Wilson’s backup.