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2007 The Tigers took the unusual step of signing Wilson to a two-year contract extension in August, a sign of just how much his pitchers like throwing to him. He hits enough that the Tigers aren`t tempted to push Ivan Rodriguez`s playing time more than they really should, which has its own intangible benefits. 2006 Wilson`s caught-stealing percentage dropped for the third straight year in 2005. Bad enough for anybody, but especially for a defense-first catcher whose already poor hitting dropped another notch. If he has hit the wall, the Tigers are going to have to go shopping; he could drop another 10 to 15 runs and still be better than any of the catchers at Toledo or Erie. 2005 Decent backup catcher with a little more pop than most. The Mets got themselves in trouble by thinking they had three starting catchers and could move one to first base. What they actually have is one starter and two good backups in Phillips and Wilson. With Piazza likely back behind the plate and Ramon Castro now in the system, the Mets were free to trade Wilson to the Tigers. There, he'll back up another Hall of Famer. 2003 A slightly better receiver than Jason Phillips, which is why he’s up and holding a big league bench job while Phillips keeps his slightly better bat fresh by playing every day in the International League. Once Wilson hits arbitration eligibility, he’s gone, unless he can learn to settle if he wants to sit still, or hope to make just as much while moving around. 2002 The big winner in the Todd Pratt trade was Wilson, who inherited the backup-catcher job after the Mets dumped the guy acquired for Pratt, Gary Bennett. He's a good glove man, exactly what the team needs backing up Piazza. 2000 His last two years have been ruined by broken arms. Wilson is a defense guy--he certainly cannot hit--and the Mets think enough of him to keep him on the 40-man roster, ready in case Piazza or Pratt goes down. 1999 Broke his arm in a home plate collision in June, but he was already seventh or eighth on the Mets' depth chart at catcher at that point. Still relying on a now-ancient hot AFL campaign to boost his rep. No better than a backup catcher, and he may not even be that good.
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