Justin Wilson's Potential Retirement Throws Wrench Into Red Sox's Bullpen Plans

[Brandon Glick]

Justin Wilson has had a long, successful career in Major League Baseball, authoring a 3.59 ERA over 562.0 innings in 13 seasons. He's pitched for seven teams in that time, though, save for the Chicago Cubs in 2017, none have even advanced as far as the League Championship Series.

That includes the Boston Red Sox, who employed Wilson for the first time in 2025. They fell to the New York Yankees (another former stop in the veteran's career) in the AL Wild Card Round, where Wilson surrendered nary a baserunner in 1 2/3 innings. He was effective across the entire season in Beantown, tallying a 3.35 ERA, 2.95 FIP, and 27.5% strikeout rate as the most reliable southpaw in the bullpen not named Aroldis Chapman.

That kind of success, even at age 37, was sure to guarantee Wilson another go-round in the majors, be it in Boston or elsewhere. Most anticipated a return to the Red Sox with fellow southpaw Steven Matz leaving for the Tampa Bay Rays in free agency, creating a big opening for a high-leverage southpaw among the late-inning relief corps. However, that entire train of thought has been thrown out the window following the latest report that Wilson is mulling retirement this offseason.

Having turned 38 last August, it's understandable that he's debating hanging his cleats up more than 20 years since originally being drafted by the Los Angeles Dodgers. However, he's more "grizzled vet" than "long in the tooth", and he can clearly still pitch with the best of 'em — he ranked in the 91st percentile in whiff rate (31.9%) and the 82nd percentile in strikeout rate last season. Hence, it's a bit jaw-dropping to hear Ken Rosenthal and Will Sammon of The Athletic report that "It is unlikely Wilson, 38, pitches in 2026 unless it is on a fair deal with a legitimate World Series contender."

The Red Sox certainly fit the bill of a "legitimate World Series contender" following the offseason acquisitions of Willson Contreras, Sonny Gray, and Johan Oviedo, and there should be more than enough room in the budget to offer Wilson a sizable raise over last year's $2.25 million salary. Then again, they've reportedly started scouring the free-agent market for a replacement — Danny Coulombe, Tim Mayza, and Cionel Perez have been connected to them directly — which offers some credence to the retirement rumors. Perhaps Boston was preparing for a reunion with Wilson and now must divert their attention elsewhere.

The need for another high-leverage southpaw cannot be overstated. Chapman is a brilliant closer, but Jovani Morán is the only other lefty projected to crack the Opening Day bullpen. The latter has produced some strong metrics that portend a breakout season could be on the horizon, but he can't be relied upon to fill the shoes of both Wilson and Matz. The same can be said for Tyler Samaniego, the only other lefty reliever on the 40-man roster.

Perhaps a move to the bullpen for Payton Tolle or Kyle Harrison could assuage some of these concerns, though that feels like a last resort considering both offer significantly more value (and upside) as starting pitchers. Signing one of the aforementioned free agents like Coulombe could also do the trick, but that'd require the Red Sox to actually go out and sign their first major-league free agent of the offseason.

In truth, the best resolution to this is that the Red Sox offer Wilson whatever terms he's seeking (within reason) on a one-year deal, offering him one last chance to pursue that elusive World Series ring. Insofar as that's off the table, though, you can add one more agenda item to the front office's pile.

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