Former Giants pitcher Brian Wilson seen here in a cable car during the World Series victory parade will pitch for someone this year, Will it be the Braves?. PhotoCredit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports

Since the news of Eric O’Flaherty’s UCL tear broke yesterday fans have wondered whether veteran closer and TJ surgery alumni Brian Wilson might be on the Braves radar. The answer is probably yes, he along with others who might be willing to take a short term deal to prove their health and ability are certainly on that radar. The details are more complicated.

Backstory – Who Is Brian Wilson?

Brian Wilson (@BrianWilson38 on Twitter)  pitched for Louisiana State University until his junior season when he injured had his first TJ surgery. The Giants drafted him in 2003 and he moved quickly through their system reaching San Francisco  in 2006. He was up and down that year posting a 5.40 ERA and a 1.767 WHIP.  He started 2007 in the minors but by the end of the year he had become Giants’ closer saving six games with one blown save.

In 2008 he racked up 41 saves in 2008 but had a 4.62 ERA and a 1.444 WHIP. That ERA dropped In 2009 to 2.74 and the WHIP dropped to 1.203 but he blew seven of his 45 save opportunities. he improved again in 2010, leading the NL with 48 saves to go with a 3-3 record, a 1.179WHIP  and a 1.81 ERA. He added six more save and a win in the post season and Braves fans will sadly vouch for.

Wilson was again in the top three in saves with 36 in the first five months of 2011 but elbow issues ended his season in August. He tried to avoid a second TJ surgery by rehabbing the elbow but appeared in only two games in 2012 before having the operation and missed the rest of the season.  He was ever present on the Giants bench as they marched towards another World Series and while his saves total didn’t grow his beard did to almost comic proportions. The Giants fans embraced it and his other eccentricities like:

1. Wearing a pair of orange cleats so bright Marlins manager Edwin Rodríguez complained to MLB and they fined Wilson  $1,000 then used a magic marker to color half of the shoes black.
2. Told Jim Rome in an ESPN interview that he had become a certified ninja in a dream. He said  that although it takes a lifetime to achieve such things in a dream that’s only 12 minutes.
3. Asked why his beard kept getting noticeably darker and said it was because they played a lot of day games and the beard was tanning in.
4. Frequently references to “The Machine” from the movie 8mm and appeared to get a phone call from it during another Jim Rome interview pulling a leather BDSM mask from his pocket and claiming it belonged to the Machine.

Amid all of his publicity stunts however Wilson remains a devout Christian and  gives freely of his time and resources within the community. On Memorial day 2011 Wilson endowed two scholarships for LSU ROTC in memory of his father, an Air Force veteran who died of cancer when Wilson was 17. But back to baseball.

In April 2012 Wilson said he expected to be back with the Giants in 2013.  The Giants did not exercise their $6.8M option and instead nontendered him. The enigmatic Wilson was upset or perhaps not. Since that time he’s made statements that can be interpreted pretty much as you’d like to interpret them. After being released by the Giants and workouts for a couple of teams indicated he wasn’t ready, he said he would not work out for anyone until he was sure he was completely healthy. Last week Brian Sabean was asked by Andrew Baggarly of CSNBayArea.com whether he had been in contact with Wilson. Sabean said he hasn’t been in touch with him lately and doesn’t know how Wilson is throwing although he has heard that his former closer is “working out like a fiend” and is “going to try to showcase himself over the All-Star break or thereabouts.”

That’s A Wrap

I doubt Wilson is ready now and as such he’s not an immediate option. If he does workout he’ll likely do it in Brian Wilsonesque style like renting Radio City Music Hall and inviting teams he’s interested in signing for or something like that. Speaking of the Yankees he recently said he would never sign with the Yankees. . .or did he? You can watch the video and decide for yourself at that TMZ link. Please note that the beard seems thicker than ever, darker too. Perhaps he’s been tanning it a lot lately.   In any event his style is likely contradictory to the “Braves Way.” Wilson will not shave that beard to please anyone except Brian Wilson nor will he mitigate his persona to please any team.  While his talent is certainly desirable the rest of him just doesn’t fit, Peter Moylan was about as off center as the Braves can accept.  Compared to Wilson Pete is a monk.  Can you really see this Brian Wilson on the Braves team bus?

April 17, 2012; Atlanta, GA, USA; Atlanta Braves relief pitcher Eric O

As you probably know the Braves put lefty Eric O’Flaherty on the 15 day DL with a tear of his UCL and called up Cory Rasmus from Gwinnett.  Tears like this almost always mean TJ surgery and a year of recovery. He joins Jonny Venters who had the surgery on Thursday, so I guess they won’t be lonely during rehab though EOF is a free agent after this season and the Braves my elect not to tender the injured pitcher a contract.

Jordan Walden was put on the 15 day DL (shoulder) Friday back dated to last Saturday so he may be back in a week or so. Luis Ayala (anxiety disorder), Cristhian Martinez (shoulder) are also  on DL. Wednesday the next logical replacement – hard throwing right hander  J.R. Graham – was sent to Atlanta to see a specialist due to shoulder inflammation, so our pitching is looking tissue thin at the moment. Asked about using six foot four righty Alex Wood to bolster the Braves bullpen GM Frank Wren used his Acme Spin Machine 2000 to toss out this answer.

“I don’t think we need to disrupt the development of players at this point. We’ll let them continue to develop and grow. He’s doing really well, but we’re not to the point where we think that would be advantageous to him or us.”

Fortunately I have my spin decoder here and that translates to: we don’t have any body ready for prime time yet. So what other options are there?

The GM also said quite rightly that there are few trades out there worth having but that doesn’t mean there isn’t movement. Today the Braves added lefty reliever Joe Beimel on a minor-league contract. Beimel last pitched in 2011 – he missed 2012 due to TJ surgery  – throwing 25 1/3 innings for the Pirates compiling a 5.33 ERA and a 1.697 WHIP. He had 6K/9, 3.20 BB/9  and a 2.1 HR/9 ratios. Those numbers likely reflect the soreness he had in his elbow prior to surgery.

On Monday the Braves signed minor league free agent lefty reliever Juan Cedeno to a minor-league contract. The 29 year old lefty pitched for Triple-A Scranton in the Yankees organization in 2012 finishing with a 2.81 ERA and a 1.18 WHIP in his 64 innings. He posted a 0/7 HR/9, an 8.02 K/9 and and a 2.95 BB/9 ratio . He made ten appearances throwing 11 innings this year for Scranton before being released. he’s had control issues since arriving and doesn’t look like an option.

Last Sunday the braves signed RHP Kameron Loe. Loe was released by the Cubs earlier in the week after putting up a 5.80 ERA and 1.920 WHIP for the Cubbies but I doubt he’s an option we’d use any time soon.

Leaving Miami

The Marlins continue to shed experienced pitchers in one way or another.  Earlier this week the Marlins released righty Jon Rauch – he of the gigantic frame and equally gigantic neck tattoo. This year Rauch had thrown 16 2/3 innings putting up a 7.56 ERA and a 1.80 WHIP, striking out 15 while walking seven and giving up one home run. The ERA is misleading as his FIP was just 3.37, such is the life of a Marlins pitcher this year.  About the same time David Aardsma (1-0, 2.57 ERA) exercised his option and ask for his release from the Marlins AAA team in New Orleans. Aardsma started the year with the Yankees but was DFA on April 4th and signed by the Fish.  Aardsma also had TJ surgery in 2012 and was working his way back. For New Orleans Aardsma had a 2.51 ERA and a 1.21 WHIP in 14 innings striking out 12, walking 8 and giving up two home runs in the 14 hits allowed.  Prior to injury his hip and then his elbow Aardsma had been a pretty good reliever for the Mariners. Either of these guy might well fit in the Braves bullpen.

That’s A Wrap

Even though the GM says we’re not worried you can bet he’s working hard to fill the void in the Braves bullpen. We’ve seen already that Walden can be fragile and if Craig Kimbrel goes down it’s all over but the crying. On top of that our starters have not looked good of late. Some of that may have been road weariness but consider that our most consistent pitcher this year has been Mike Minor. I’m watching Kris Medlen look more like the Meds from last season against the Dodgers and Paul Maholm threw well last night as well. The Dodgers however are stumbling through at the moment and not a good gauge. Brandon Beachy’s return is imminent but how many innings we can expect is anyone’s guess.  Here’s hoping the remainder of our staff stays healthy and we find a way to shore up that bullpen soon.

Justin Upton takes batting practice before Monday night’s game in Phoenix. Watching are hitting coach Greg Walker, B.J. Upton and Carlos Tosca. The Braves won the game 10-1. Photo Please Credit Fred E Owens

Last June Diamondbacks Managing General Partner, Ken Kendrick  said of Justin Upton “He’s  certainly not the Justin Upton that he has been in the past and that we would expect of him. He’s 24 years old, and it’s time for him to be a consistent performer and right now this year he’s not been that.”  It wasn’t the first time he had implied that Upton somehow wasn’t doing enough and it started the process that ended up with Kevin Towers trading Upton; Braves fans thank him almost daily for that.  In order to get J-UP the Braves had to part with their heartbeat Martin Prado as well as Randall Delgado and two other minor league players.  In order to get Prado they had to send third baseman Chris Johnson along as well.  Tonight the two rejected players returned and almost single handedly beat the Diamondbacks and their fine young lefty Wade Miley and I had the extreme pleasure of watching it in person.

Braves Fans Are Everywhere

Arriving at Chase Field I was struck immediately by the shear number of Braves fans I saw. Braves jersey’s were everywhere with names like Jones, Spahn, Heyward and Freeman the most prevalent while the couple who sat in front of us were both sporting Aaron jersey’s. I watched J-Up’s first at bat from Friday’s Front Row and saw that the most fans stood and applauded him though of course there were some who did not. He and the Braves went quickly in the first and I wasn’t yet back in my seat when Diamondback’s powerhouse first baseman Paul Goldschmidt put them in the lead with a long home run.

As the next few innings passed the D’backs in the area near my seats behind and to the right of the Braves dugout were very chatty and laughed when Freddie Freeman hit unto a double play after I had begged him to lift a homer and put us in the lead. Their good humor and smiles vanished pretty quickly however.

Braves Take Charge – Their Fans too

In the fourth the D’Backs started to rally when Prado and Gerardo Parra singled but that was stifled when B.J. Upton caught Wil Nieves fly ball and threw a laser from mid-centerfield to McCann cutting down Prado as he attempted to score. Josh Wilson was called out on strikes ending that inning and the rally.

In the top of the fifth Evan Gattis ironically reached on a throwing error by the usually accurate Prado and Brian McCann walked to bring up Dan Uggla. Miley promptly threw his first wild pitch of the year moving both runners up. Uggla hit his next pitch to centerfield , the sac fly  scoring Gattis to level the score and bring up Johnson.  CJ had singled back in the third and must have had Miley sighted in pretty well as he hit the lefty’s first pitch on a line into the left field stands (hyperlinks have video of the homers) to put the Braves ahead 3-1.

Mike Minor and Brian McCann insured a quick bottom of the fifth. Minor induced two quick ground outs but Didi Gregorius singled to bring Goldschmidt up again. On the second pitch to Goldschmidt, Gregorius tried to steal second only to be gunned down by McCann.

Miley’s wildness continued in the sixth as he nailed  B.J. Upton  in the bicep on his second pitch if the inning bringing his young brother Justin to the plate. Miley threw two balls out of the zone to J-Up then he tried to sneak a changeup by him. That was a mistake. The changeup hung and was last seen flying over the fence onto the concourse 440 feet from home plate. The huge Braves contingent erupted when that happened but, Miley’s woes weren’t over. With the Braves fans familiar chop ringing around the ballpark Freeman doubled, Miley uncorked his second wild pitch moving Freeman to third, Gattis walked and McCann singled driving Freeman in and ending Miley’s night.

Josh Collmenter managed to get Uggla to ground into a force play but Johnson continued to be a hard out doubling Gattis in before Mike Minor ended the inning by striking out. Through the whole Braves rally the Chop continued unabated and unchallenged by the shell shocked D’Backs fans. In the bottom of the inning Cody Ross singled and Prado followed that up with a double. Ross was waived home on Prado’s double but a perfect Gattis throw to cutoff man Andrelton Simmons was followed by a rifle shot from Simba to McCann and Ross was out by a a few feet. That was also the last semblance of a rally from Arizona

Brian McCann  opened the eighth inning with a 444 foot blast off of Tony Sipp and Dan Uggla launched a big fly to the deepest part of the ballpark but it stayed in play and ended up on second base where the stayed as the inning ended. In the ninth J-Up singled, Freeman singled and Reed Johnson singled driving home Upton and McCann hit a sac fly scoring Freeman.

That’s A Wrap

Phoenix was a scorching 100 today and the Braves bats did some scorching of their own. The return of Justin Upton and Chris Johnson to Phoenix went exactly as they would have wished and the Braves were happy to assist the well liked pair have the last emphatic word on their departure. It was good to see this happen to another team too as the Braves have often been on the receiving end of such messages.  It was good as well to see the bats wake up again. Let’s hope that continues on for the next 6 months or so.