Big news day for former Mariners closers who saved, like, 65-70 games for Seattle back in the day. First David Aardsma retires, and now Tom Wilhelmsen gets signed by the Padres to a minor league deal.
Wilhelmsen was once pretty effective in Seattle, but he put up a mediocre 4.44 ERA with a 17/12 K/BB ratio in 26.1 innings of work in Arizona last year. They designated him for assignment and then the Brewers picked him up, but he never made an appearance for Milwaukee. His issue: a plummeting strikeout rate in recent seasons after averaging nearly a strikeout per inning several seasons ago with the Mariners.
Still, in an age when it seems like the only players who get signed are relievers, it’s not shocking that someone took a chance on Wilhelmsen.
