Craig

Wilson

Wilson isn’t going to remain in Pittsburgh for the long-term, but a deal is much more likely to take place in July or next winter. Perhaps that would change if the Blue Jays were willing to give up Alexis Rios, but we can’t imagine they’d do that for Wilson unless Kip Wells were also involved.

Wilson hit .370 with five homers and 10 RBI. He had 27 total bases and a 1.000 slugging percentage. Manager Lloyd McClendon thinks Wilson is the solution to one of the team’s holes next year, but he can’t say whether that’s right field, first base, or catcher.

Surely even Lloyd McClendon can’t overlook this and turn Wilson into a part-timer when Jason Bay returns, can he? Believe it. Bay, Tike Redman, and Raul Mondesi have the outfield covered, and Randall Simon gets the first base at-bats against right-handers.

''He’s very versatile, and right now, he warrants playing every day,’' McClendon said. ''There’s no reason to take his bat out of the lineup.’' Hallelujah, Lloyd has seen the light.

It’s good that Wilson is going to be eligible at catcher again, but his value will be quite limited unless his role increases. Jason Kendall gets as much playing time as any catcher in baseball.

He had played in all 64 of the Pirates’ games to date. Wilson didn’t get a complete day off as he entered the game in the seventh inning as defensive replacement.

While there’s no timeframe on his return, it’s looking more like September than August at this point.

He will eventually go on a minor-league rehab assignment and could return by the end of the month.

Dave Littlefield needs to be fired. Preferably a year ago. Wilson probably won’t have much fantasy value while being used as a bench player in New York. Chacon should step into Kip Wells’ spot in the Pirates’ rotation.

Wilson will certainly play enough to have value in AL-only formats, but if he’s going to play every day he could have value in mixed leagues too. It’s more likely he gets four starts a week than five or six with Melky Cabrera, Andy Phillips, and Bernie Williams still around, but it’s a situation worth monitoring.