Justin Wilson: Former Mets Reliever (2019 - 2020)

Justin James Wilson was born August 18th 1987, in Anaheim, California. The six foot, two left hander was drafted out of high school, by the Los Angeles Dodgers. 

He opted not to sign & attended Fresno State where he pitched for the Fresno State Bulldogs. In his Junior year there, his team won the College World Series & he was named to the College World Series All Tournament Team as well. Also that year he signed with the Pittsburgh Pirates as their fifth round pick.

While at AAA, he pitched two no hitters. In the first one, he pitched 7 1/3 innings of no hit ball when he taken out of the game. Two other relievers saved & combined in the no hitter. The second came in 2012, soon after he was promoted to the Pirates big league club.

In 2013 he was a solid mid reliever, going 6-1 with a 2.08 ERA in 56 games. He made two appearances in the NLDS giving up one run to the St. Louis Cardinals. He made two post seasons while in Pittsburgh.

Two years later he was traded to the AL New York team for Francisco Cervelli. There he went 5-0 in 74 appearances (2nd most in thee AL).

 At the end of the year he was traded to the Detroit Tigers for Chad Green & Luis Cessa. He had a closers role saving 13 games at the start of the 2017 season, replacing Francisco Rodriguez who had blown four saves early on in the season.

After a season and a half in Detroit he was traded to the Chicago Cubs for their playoff run. He made one appearance in the NLDS win over the Nationals & no appearances in the NLCS loss to the LA Dodgers. 

In 2018 he made 71 appearances, going 4-5 with a decent 3.46 ERA, 16 holds & 12 games finished for the Cubs. He pitched 0.1 innings in the Wild Card game loss to the Rockies & was then granted free agency.

Mets Career: In 2019 he signed with the New York Mets. He earned his first Mets win in the second game of the season, pitching a perfect 7th inning, in the Mets 11-8 win over the Nationals in D.C. But the next day he gave up a Trea Turner HR taking the loss.

He got credit for a save & a hold through April 19th. He then suffered elbow issues & would miss over 2 1/2 months of action. 

His comeback attempt in May was too soon & extended his time on the IL.

He returned in July and got three straight holds through mid month. In July he pitched 9.1 innings and allowed just one earned run lowering his ERA from 4.50 to 2.89 by August 1st.

During the Mets seven game win streak he earned a win on July 31st in Chicago against the White Sox. And then earned another win on August 3rd, as the Mets continued their streak winning nine of ten.

 In that game a scoreless 7th inning in Pittsburgh, earned him the win over the Pirates.

On August 7th, Wilson earned his 6th hold of the year in a 7-2 win over the Marlins. Two nights later, Wilson pitched a scoreless 7th inning in the  Mets seventh straight win on.

 He would nest appear on the road in Kansas City, where he pitched two games, one in which he earned another hold.

On August 30th, he came in to pitch in the 7th inning in a 1-1 tie & earned a victory as the Mets went on to beat the Phillies in Philadelphia 11-5, scoring five runs in both the 8th & 9th innings. He returned the next night, holding the Phils in another Mets win.

He only saw action in three games over the next ten days. 

On September 10th he earned a save in a 3-2 win over Arizona, the Mets would sweep the three game set, still in the thick of the wild card race.

He saw action in two games of the Dodgers series, earning a save on September 14th, but then blew a save the next night as Chris Taylor doubled to tie the game. Seth Lugo took the 3-2 loss. 

On September 21st, he allowed the winning run in Cincinnati & took the loss to the Reds. The next night he earned his final save of the season.

In his first Mets season, he went from almost being forgotten to a savior in the bullpen. 

Wilson was 4-2 with 4 saves. He struck out 44 batters & walked 19 in 39 innings pitched over 45 appearances. He had nine holds & one blown save.

He returned in the 2020 Covid19 shortened season to go 2-1 with a 3.66 ERA in 23 appearances. 

Wilson was granted free agency & signed with the AL New York club.

Wilson has pitched in ten seasons going 33-23 with 18 saves, 489 strike outs, 203 walks in 447 innings pitched with a 3.44 ERA.