Pirates Trade Catcher to Padres

PITTSBURGH — The Pittsburgh Pirates made a recent trade, moving one of their players to another team in the National League.

The Pirates traded Triple-A Indianapolis catcher Eli Wilson to the San Diego Padres on Aug. 2, according to the transactions log.

Wilson hails from Seattle, Wash. and played for Garfield High School, where he slashed .369/469/.563 for an OPS of 1.032 as a senior in 2016, earning all-conference and Seattle Times all-area honors, while making the all-state all-star team.

He played for Minnesota in college, where his father, Dan Wilson, also played, before also going on and competing with the Seattle Mariners.

Wilson slashed .295/.391/.433 for an OPS of .825 in 132 games over three seasons with the Golden Gophers, 128 hits, 24 doubles, three triples, 10 home runs, 77 RBIs and 59 walks to 83 strikeouts.

He earned All-Big Ten First Team honors as a junior in 2019, slashing .294/.382/.453 for an OPS of .835 in 55 games, with 63 hits, 15 doubles, two triples, five home runs, 29 RBIs and 25 walks to 45 strikeouts.

The Pirates selected Wilson in the 2019 MLB Draft, taking him with the 484th pick in the 16th round.

WIlson played with the Bristol Pirates, a minor league rookie-level team in the Appalachian league in 2019. He slashed .234/.356/.366 for an OPS of .722 in 44 games, with 34 hits, seven doubles, four home runs, 20 RBIs and 23 walks to 30 strikeouts, earning MilB.com Organization All-Star honors.

He didn't play in 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic cancelling the minor league season, but returned in 2021, slashing .328/.480/.474 for an OPS of .954 in 39 games with Single-A Bradenton and then playing 16 games with High-A Greensboro.

Wilson spent all of 2022 with Greensboro, slashing .233/.315/.373 for an OPS of .688 in 59 games, and then 37 games in 2023, slashing .230/.353/.416 for an OPS of .769, before earning promotion to Double-A Altoona.

He only played in 29 games in 2024, 25 with Altoona, then just 11 in 2025 with Indianapolis before the Pirates traded him.

The Pirates and Padres had an earlier catcher trade in 2025, as the Pirates landed Brett Sullivan in exchange for outfielder/first baseman Bryce Johnson.