Dodgers sign Brian Wilson to deal, which could be a boon for Los Angeles

The Dodgers signed Brian Wilson to a contract on Tuesday, a day ahead of the July 31 non-waiver trade deadline.

It isn't a popular move among most of the fanbase because of Wilson's ties to the Giants, but it could be a nice low-risk/high-reward move for the surging Los Angeles Dodgers.

I asked last week whether folks would rather sign Wilson or trade a prospect for a reliever. The vast majority went with Wilson, which surprised me.

The great Tim Brown of Yahoo! Sports broke the news less than an hour ago.

Brian Wilson has chosen to sign with Dodgers, according to source. Had three offers. Will start in minors.
— Tim Brown (@TBrownYahoo) July 30, 2013

He goes on to say Wilson will go to the Dodgers' facility in Arizona before going on a minor-league assignment in Rancho Cucamonga. He'd then join the Dodgers -- a timetable of roughly two weeks.

This is the same path Carlos Marmol took with the Dodgers. Here's hoping for better results.

I laid out my thoughts on the Wilson signing with a Yahoo! Sports article earlier today.

"It's unsure how Wilson would fit into the Dodgers' plans, but I'm guessing he'd be more of a sixth- and seventh-inning guy until he shows he's back to the Wilson of old. If he were to get there, the Dodgers could have an amazing bullpen.

At this point, it can be debated the Dodgers don't need a bullpen upgrade. That would mean putting faith in League and the youngsters -- a risky proposition. But, if the Dodgers sign Wilson to a team-friendly deal, I'm not going to lose any sleep over it."

Wilson could be a nice piece to a recently dominant bullpen, especially if he can be anything close to his 2010 self when he was a 2 1/2-win player as a closer. That might be unrealistic, but if he can be better than Brandon League -- which shouldn't be too hard at this point, despite a recent resurgent -- then it should be a net gain for the Dodgers.

One would think the Wilson signing would make acquiring a reliever a lesser priority. I wouldn't be surprised to see the Dodgers land yet another reliever, but I'd bet on them focusing on a starter or maybe a surprise position player such as Howie Kendrick. More on that last part in a later post.

Photo credit: HarmonyRae, Flickr