The former Kansas City Royal and New York Yankee, Kris Wilson, joins Danesi Nettuno for the upcoming season in the Italian Baseball League. The 33-year-old right-hander is expected to split time on the mound with Jeff Farnsworth in game one each week.
Wilson was born in Washington, D.C., went to Tarpon Springs High School in Florida and the Georgia Institute of Technology before being selected by the Kansas City Royals in the ninth round of the 1997 amateur draft. After three seasons in the Minors he made his Major League debut in 2000. He stayed in the organization until 2004, switching back and forth between farm teams and the big leagues.
In 2005 Wilson signed as a free agent with the New York Yankees and spent the year with the Triple-A team in Columbus. One year later during the summer he got called up to the MLB again, making five appearances. Sidney Ponson ended his Yankees career, replacing him on the roster and Wilson got designated for assignment. He pitched for the Korean team Samsung Lions in 2007 and signed with the Philadelphia Phillies later that year, but didn’t pitch for them in a game.
During his MLB career Wilson had a 14-9 record with an ERA of 5.44 in 95 appearances (20 starts). He struck out 142 batters in 243 1/3 innings, walking 68. In the Minors he had a combined ERA of 4.04 in 218 games (141 starts), striking out 669 (174 walks) in 944.2 innings pitched.