Vance Wilson Career Tracker

From: http://beck.mlblogs.com/

January 04, 2008
More on Wilson

I spent most of my assigned article on the Tigers' catching situation writing about Vance Wilson and his comeback from Tommy John surgery, in large part because I've received a lot of mailbag questions about it. It's basically a matter of when he comes back, not if. It might not be by opening day, but it should happen early in the season.

The timetable on a return from Tommy John is 9-12 months. Considering he had surgery at the beginning of June, the season opener would be right around the 10-month mark. Wilson said he thinks he can reach it if he can be ready to play in spring training games at the beginning of March. As for his arm strength, it might take the full 12 months for him to get it fully back, but it's expected he'll get it back.

"My big thing," Wilson said, "is I just want to make sure I get the ball to second on time and throw out the guys I'm supposed to throw out."

It would not be a surprise if the Tigers signed a journeyman catcher to a minor-league deal to be ready to back up if Wilson isn't ready at season's start -- at this point, Dane Sardinha is the next guy on the food chain -- but at some point, the Tigers expect Wilson will be Pudge's backup.

Posted on January 04, 2008 at 05:16 PM

01/13/2008 10:14 PM ET
Notes: Wilson's elbow in question
Catcher likely won't be ready for start of Spring Training
By Jason Beck / MLB.com

TOLEDO, Ohio -- Tigers manager Jim Leyland's job involves worrying about things that others might not fret. He has to plan for worst-case scenarios in case they happen, and he has a team to put together this spring.

At this point, Leyland is worried about Vance Wilson.

Wilson, who missed all of last season with what ended up being a ligament tear in his elbow that required reconstructive surgery, is on track for a return this season. However, it's not a guarantee, and the rehab work isn't perfect. As Wilson said last week, he has good days and bad days when he tries to throw.

It's the bad days, of course, that worry Leyland.

"I'm concerned about that one," Leyland said Sunday night during a Winter Caravan stop at the Toledo Mud Hens' Fandemonium event. "I'm hoping by the time Spring Training is over that he can get enough time in."

Wilson threw for club officials, including Leyland, on Friday at Comerica Park, including Leyland, and looked good. However, he had trouble in previous days.

Wilson, too has acknowledged the frustration. He hopes, however, to be ready by March 1. For now, Leyland isn't counting on him to be ready for action when Spring Training games open.

"I would think it's very unlikely he'll be usable real early on [in Spring Training]," Leyland said. "I'm hoping somewhere after the first couple weeks or something, maybe he'll ready to go, but I'm not sure of that. I'm very concerned about that. He's done a lot to keep himself in great shape, but I'm concerned about that one."

Having a backup catcher who can catch when the season begins has to be a concern for the Tigers, who face a stretch of 20 consecutive games without an off-day from April 8-27. To expect Ivan Rodriguez to catch all those games at age 36 would be unrealistic, to say the least.

Team president/general manager Dave Dombrowski said last week that there are no plans to sign another catcher. Part of the problem, Leyland acknowledged, is the dilemma they've faced trying to sign Minor League free agents to their organization.

"Six-year free agents like to go where they see hope [to reach the Majors]," said Leyland, who would like to add a few more pitchers to camp. "And when you've got a good team and are pretty deep, they're reluctant to sign with you."

One possible way to address that, as Dombrowski inferred at TigerFest on Saturday, would be to have Brandon Inge -- if he isn't traded -- as a super-sub player who could catch again. That's hard to count on.

"That could be a decent fit," Leyland said. "The number one thing is, how much would he want to do it? I'm hoping we can trade him, because I want him to play third for somebody. He deserves that. If not, we'll make the best out of the situation. It'll be a good situation for me. It won't be for him, because he's not going to be playing every day. He's not going to be disruptive, but he's not going to be happy."

Mantei worth a shot: Wilson wasn't the only player Leyland saw throw on Friday. He was there with other team officials for Matt Mantei's bullpen session, and he left impressed. If Mantei's healthy, Leyland suggested he still has the stuff to succeed.

"That's a big if," Leyland said. "Obviously, the equipment's there. He threw the ball great. But when you start going through Spring Training, the fielding drills, the pitching, on and off in batting practice, then pitching in a game, it's a matter of if he stays healthy or not."

Leyland said it would be a long shot to expect Mantei to make the Tigers out of Spring Training, even if he stays healthy. Most likely, he would start out at Triple-A Toledo in the Mud Hens bullpen, facing live hitters and trying to earn a call.

"This is kind of one of those ones where you take a chance with an excellent arm that's still got it," Leyland said. "Can he stay healthy? I don't know. The book says no, but he looks great. He's coming in with a tremendous attitude. We're glad to have him. What can you lose? You can't lose anything by taking a shot, so we're doing it."

Home again: This marks Leyland's third Winter Caravan as the manager of the Tigers, and his second trip to Toledo as part of it. The Perrysburg, Ohio, native spent last year's caravan on the team's tour of the western part of Michigan, but was glad to return close to home.

Leyland's brother, Larry, was also in attendance.

"This is nice," Jim Leyland said. "You're not really here very long. You don't get much chance to visit with them, but it's nice to come back here."

Fortunately, it's not as if it's his only chance to visit. He has been known to make the hour-long drive down I-75 from Detroit on an off-day, and he made two trips to Fifth Third Field to watch players.

"This is a manager's delight, really, if you're a Major League manager," Leyland said. "Your Triple-A team is only an hour's ride away. We can start batting practice at 5 o'clock in Detroit and have a player there by 7 o'clock from Toledo. That's a pretty good convenience to have. It's been a nice marriage."

It's certainly different from when he started out managing in the Majors. He took over the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1986, when their Triple-A affiliate was in Honolulu, Hawaii.

"We'd call a guy up, and 10 days later he'd get there," Leyland joked.

Dontrelle's toughest critics: Dontrelle Willis is fully aware of the expectations surrounding the team and himself for the coming season. Still, when asked about handling the pressure, he said it's nothing compared to what he faces at home.

"Whatever you say isn't worse than what I hear from my family," Willis said. "Handling the media is easy for me. My family is like the New York Post."

Running joke: Two years have passed since Nate Robertson made Gum Time famous, but he still receives questions about it, including one here Sunday.

"I just went to the dentist," Robertson said. "Got my first cavity, and it was probably from that 2006 season."

Jason Beck is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.

I like Vance, and I hope that he comes back!

All we can do is offer up lots of prayers for his healing and that the Tigers work with him through Spring Training. We still have over 8 weeks for him to heal.

Thursday, March 6, 2008
Tigers' Wilson to miss start of season
Tom Gage The Detroit News

LAKELAND, Fla. -- Once hopeful he'd be playing by mid-spring, Vance Wilson now admits he won't even be ready by the start of the season.

That means the job of backup catcher on the Tigers is officially up for grabs.

It'll belong to Brandon Inge if he's still with the team when the season begins. It'll belong to someone else, possibly Dane Sardinha, if Inge is traded before then.

Sardinha went 0-for-3 as the starting catcher on Thursday in the Tigers' 5-4 loss to the Atlanta Braves at Marchant Stadium, a game called after the top of the ninth because of rain.

In his second start, Dontrelle Willis worked three scoreless innings.

It might turn out that Wilson is healthy for most of the season. But it's clear he's not healthy now. In fact, at a time he thought he might be close to getting back in the lineup, he's shutting everything down for a few days, including hitting, to rest his right elbow that's still recovering from last year reconstruction (Tommy John) surgery.

It's certainly been no secret that Wilson might not be ready. Manager Jim Leyland recently said it was his guess and he emphasized at the time it was only a guess that Wilson wouldn't be.

Wilson has been reluctant to agree. Now he is agreeing, however.

"I don't have any arm strength, so I have to believe at this point I won't be, even if next week I felt great," he said on Thursday before the game.

"Even on the days when it feels good, there's just nothing behind it. So I have to build that up. I'm not a pitcher (for whom Tommy John surgery is more common), but doctors will tell you that it takes 11 or 12 months, and I'm not even at nine months.

Wilson's surgery was performed on June 13. An 11-month recovery would mean a return to playing status by mid-May.

"I'm frustrated," Wilson said, "but not with anybody. Everybody says that when you have Tommy John, it's the mental grind of it that's tough. They're right. That's the hard part.

"Missing last year was tough, but nowhere near as tough as what I'm going through. I want to take part in drills, but it's like 'hey, you sit over there.' You feel worthless.

"They say a lot of times with this that all of a sudden, one week you'll turn a corner and take off. You just have to keep working, going day-to-day. You know you're going to get there, you just don't know when."

Wilson has been able to swing a bat. There's even been some talk about him being used as a designated hitter in an exhibition game or two, although Leyland said it's not a priority.

But now Wilson is shutting down his hitting as well. "I'm stopping that until my throwing is there," he said.

What exactly is the problem with his throwing?

"You'll feel good, then right toward the end, you'll hit a wall. It starts aching," Wilson said. " Then you're sore the next day. The third day, too, you're pretty sore. I was getting better, then I went backwards a little bit.

"The difference between now and where I'll be in a month I think will be huge. The problem is that Opening Day is before that month is up. I probably won't make it."

With Wilson not making it, though, the question becomes who will. Toward that end, the Tigers are beginning to take a longer look at Sardinha, 28, who hit .202 as Toledo's catcher last year.

His major-league experience, however consists only of five hitless at-bats for Cincinnati

"He's an extremely fine defensive catcher, who can throw," said Leyland. "Anything you get offensively from him would be a bonus. You just hope that on the days you play him, the big boys can carry the lineup offensively.

"But I've really been impressed with his defense. I don't know if he's going to be on the team, or not on the team, but I like him a lot."

Anyone think Wilson will ever play again for the Tigers?

catbox_9 wrote:

Anyone think Wilson will ever play again for the Tigers?

I give him a 50/50 chance.

catbox_9 wrote:

Anyone think Wilson will ever play again for the Tigers?

I give him a 70-30 chance!

03/10/2008 1:31 PM ET
Wilson aiming for April return
Opening Day comeback for catcher ruled out after setback
By Jason Beck / MLB.com

LAKELAND, Fla. -- An Opening Day return has been pretty much ruled out for catcher Vance Wilson. Now, his goal is to try to make his stay on the disabled list a short one.

A bout of tendinitis that flared up last week has halted Wilson's rehab from last summer's Tommy John elbow ligament replacement surgery while he takes anti-inflammatory medication. Once he's cleared to work out again later this week, he'll play catch-up to get back to where he left off before resuming his long-tossing.

It's the long toss that has been the hurdle for him. Though the surgically repaired ligament has been fine, he said Monday, the tendon attached to it has become inflamed from time to time.

The setback has been disappointing, but the shock value wore off after talking with others who have been through the process.

"I did a little research and talked to some other players," Wilson said. "They said, 'Yeah, you're in that phase right now.' You take four [steps] forward and two back."

Asked about the start of the season, Wilson said, "I'm not going to be ready. I don't think so, because of the arm strength. I could probably do it and go through the pain, but I don't want to hurt the team. I want to get it right."

Wilson underwent surgery last June after doctors discovered a ligament tear in his right elbow. That puts him at nine months since a surgery that usually requires 9-12 months of rehab to get back to game action. That timetable is usually for pitchers.

The Tigers have tried to avoid a specific timetable in favor of a more general one, basing each step on how Wilson feels.

"I'm hoping it won't be too much longer, but that's the hard thing," Wilson said. "I want to set goals and work things, and [members of the medical staff] tell you to take it day-to-day. That's what the mental grind is. But hopefully once we get past this little setback, then it'll be the last one."

His outlook is based on how much progress he has made over the past month or so. If he can get back to action in April, it could affect how the Tigers approach the season in terms of a backup catcher.

Manager Jim Leyland has said he has no idea who will back up starting catcher Ivan Rodriguez when the season opens, but that he has options. Dane Sardinha is one. Brandon Inge could be another, if he isn't traded. The Tigers plan on having Ryan Raburn see some time at catcher later this spring, but he would likely be a third, or emergency, catcher.

Mike Rabelo made the jump from the Minor Leagues to backup catcher last year when Wilson was injured. What was initially expected to be a short stint for Rabelo became a season-long role once Wilson underwent surgery. Rabelo went to the Florida Marlins as part of December's trade for Dontrelle Willis and Miguel Cabrera.

A longer absence by Wilson could cause the Tigers to revisit their options, but Wilson doesn't expect it to come to that.

"I can't imagine me not being able to [play] in a month," he said, "but that's been the hard part. They tell you don't set goals and take it day-to-day. ... If I'm past May [and not catching], I'm going to have some problems."

Jason Beck is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.

GoGetEmTigers wrote:

catbox_9 wrote:

Anyone think Wilson will ever play again for the Tigers?

I give him a 50/50 chance.

Still?

catbox_9 wrote:

GoGetEmTigers wrote:

catbox_9 wrote:

Anyone think Wilson will ever play again for the Tigers?

I give him a 50/50 chance.

Still?

Maybe 60/40, just a little better, but who knows.

Flip ya for it!

I mean, it's getting to that point!

Injured Wilson indebted to Tigers
Catcher still hopes to make it back to majors, despite surgeries that have cost him two years.
Tom Gage / The Detroit News

DETROIT -- He works out, does his running -- and never plays.

In fact, he hasn't played for two years or as views it, two Tommy John surgeries ago.

Vance Wilson is a former Tiger who's still a current Tiger hoping to be a future Tiger. He went as far to say Wednesday that if he doesn't play for the Tigers next year, he doesn't want to play anywhere.

He'll be 36 by opening day, but age isn't what motivates him. If nothing else, it's guilt.

Wilson, because of his elbow injuries, hasn't played a game in the majors since signing the only multi-year contract (two years, $1.9 million) any club has ever given him.

After the 2006 season, Wilson's second as a Tiger, he signed a two-year contract. However, he ended up on the disabled list at the end of spring training in 2007. He got into three games as part of a rehab assignment that year at Toledo, but when soreness persisted, he underwent surgery on June 30.

Wilson hoped to play this year, but when he experienced soreness yet again, it was diagnosed he needed a second surgery.

The scar on his right arm tells the tale. Because of two surgeries, it's almost double its original length. Meanwhile, Wilson works quietly and diligently to get back to being a player again.

"I do my leg work and some light strengthening," he said. "It's not very much, but it's what I can do at this point."

Wilson said he hopes to start throwing by mid-to-late November and seems encouraged by the fact the replacement ligament used in the second surgery "is tighter" than the first one.

"This one is nailed down a little stronger. I'm going to say it's better, but I still don't have any feeling down there because of the nerve work that was done."

Wilson then spoke of what he feels he owes the Tigers.

"There's nothing I could have done about it," he said, "but I have a very guilty conscience. I'm just that kind of person. No team ever stepped up and gave me a two-year deal before they did.

"I feel awful about what's happened. But I also just think I have a lot to offer the team and the clubhouse. I'd like to think I could be one of the catalysts to get us back to the playoffs."

The Tigers could be looking for a left-handed hitting catcher this winter. That might get in the way, but it's not of out the question they'll give Wilson another chance next spring.

"They'd have to sign me back," he said, "which I wouldn't think would be a problem. They have a lot of time and money invested in me, but if I'm healthy, they know what they get."

Quote :

"I feel awful about what's happened. But I also just think I have a lot to offer the team and the clubhouse. I'd like to think I could be one of the catalysts to get us back to the playoffs."

To be fair, the last time the Tigers made the playoffs, Wilson was the backup catcher.

I miss Vance.

Royals sign catcher Vance Wilson to minor-league deal
By SAM MELLINGER
The Kansas City Star

The Royals have signed veteran catcher Vance Wilson to a minor-league contract.

Wilson will continue to rehabilitate from a right elbow injury, and as such won’t be in big-league camp during spring training. That elbow injury limited the 35-year-old to three games over the past two seasons.

Before that, he was a backup catcher for eight seasons with the Mets and Tigers, hitting .250 with 25 homers in 402 games.

Over/under 0.5 ML plate appearances?

I'll take the under...way under.

catbox_9 wrote:

Over/under 0.5 ML plate appearances?

I'll take the under...way under.

Update:

Vance Wilson is still alive.

bobrob2004 wrote:

Update:

Vance Wilson is still alive.

Veteran catcher Wilson ready to join Naturals

SPRINGDALE - The Kansas City Royals are expected to activate catcher Vance Wilson today and assign him to the Northwest Arkansas Naturals, team officials said.

Wilson, of Springdale, is an eightyear major-league veteran who has spent time with the New York Mets and the Detroit Tigers. He has missed almost all of the past two seasons while recovering from two surgeries on his right (throwing) elbow.

Wilson, 35, signed a minor league contract with the Royals in the offseason and has split time this year between Northwest Arkansas and the Royals' extended spring training facility in Surprise, Ariz.

Wilson batted .250 with 25 home runs and 189 RBI in 953 majorleague at-bats while serving as a backup to Mike Piazza in New York and Ivan Rodriquez in Detroit.

Thought I misread it and it said "Nationals"

Vance Wilson has resigned with the Royals.

Wilson hit .270/.342/.461 with the Royals' AA club in 2009.