The Cincinnati Reds have come to an agreement with right-handed pitcher Aaron Wilkerson on a minor-league contract. Wilkerson has spent the last three seasons pitching in Japan and South Korea.
Wilkerson, 35, was signed by the Boston Red Sox in 2014 after pitching with the Grand Prairie AirHogs in the American Association. In 2016, Wilkerson was traded along with Wendell Rijo to the Milwaukee Brewers in exchange for second baseman Aaron Hill.
He made his MLB debut at 28 in 2017, making three appearances and two starts. He went 1-0 with a 3.48 ERA and struck out seven batters in 10.1 innings. Between 2018 and 19, Wilkerson pitched in 11 games and made one start with the Brewers. He went 0-1 with an 8.28 ERA and struck out 21 batters in 25 innings. He did not pitch during the 2020 season, leading to his release in November 2020.
A month after his release, he was set to sign with the Rakuten Monkeys in the Chinese Professional Baseball League but opted out of his contract before the season due to family reasons. In 2021, he pitched in the Dodgers organization, playing in Triple-A. He pitched to an 8-5 record in 23 games and 19 starts, posting a 3.86 ERA and striking out 125 batters across 112 innings. After the season, he was released, leading Wilkerson to sign with the Hanshin Tigers of Nippon Professional Baseball.
Wilkerson appeared in both the Central and Western Leagues in his first year in Japan. In 20 appearances, he went 6-6, posting a 4.01 ERA. However, he struck out only 66 batters in 89.2 innings pitched. He was set to begin the 2023 season with the Leones de Yucatán but was released prior to the start of the season.
He would sign with the Oakland Athletics, but after 14 appearances and six starts, he would be released in July, opting out of his minor league contract. About four days after his release, he signed with the Lotte Giants of the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO). Wilkerson found his groove later that season, pitching to a 7-2 record with a 2.26 ERA in 13 starts, with 81 strikeouts and 20 walks over 79.2 innings of work. He would resign with the Giants for the 2024 season.
Wilkerson was set to lead the Giants rotation for his first full season in South Korea. He made 32 starts, posting a 12-8 record and a 3.84 ERA. He also threw one complete-game shutout and collected 167 strikeouts in 196.2 innings pitched.
Now, Wilkerson hopes that his third comeback attempt to the MLB will help land him with a big league club this season. The Reds called up former KBO pitchers Casey Kelly and David Buchanan during the 2024 season, so it will be intriguing if Wilkerson is another name to make the comeback from playing overseas.
