Samuel Rutherford McWilliams (born September 4, 1995) is an American

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Modern professiona ...

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the Baseball (ball), baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of out (baseball), retiring a batter (baseball), batter, who attempts to e ...

in the

Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as part of the National League (NL) Central division. The club plays its home games at Wrigley Field, which is locate ...

organization. He spent time on the

40-man roster A Major League Baseball roster is a list of players who are allowed, by league agreement, to play for a Major League Baseball (MLB) team. Each MLB team maintains two rosters: an active roster of players eligible to participate in an MLB game, and ...

of the

New York Mets The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. They are one of two major leagu ...

and

San Diego Padres The San Diego Padres are an American professional baseball team based in San Diego. The Padres compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1969, the club has won two NL penna ...

, and was a Rule 5 pick by the

Kansas City Royals The Kansas City Royals are an American professional baseball team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Royals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team was founded as an expa ...

, but never played in the major leagues.

Career

Amateur career

McWilliams attended

Beech High School Beech High School is one of two public high schools in Hendersonville, Tennessee. The school is located in the Shackle Island community on Long Hollow Pike, near the intersection of Shackle Island Road, Long Hollow Pike, and New Hope Road, just t ...

Hendersonville, Tennessee Hendersonville is the largest city in Sumner County, Tennessee, on Old Hickory Lake. The population was 61,753 at the 2020 census. Hendersonville is the fourth-largest city in the Nashville metropolitan area after Nashville, Murfreesboro, ...

, where he pitched for the school's baseball team. In 2014, his senior year, he was named to the All-State team by the Tennessee Sports Writers Association. He had committed to play

college baseball College baseball is baseball that is played on the intercollegiate level at institutions of higher education. In comparison to football and basketball, college competition in the United States plays a smaller role in developing professional pl ...

for

Tennessee Tech Tennessee Technological University, commonly referred to as Tennessee Tech, is a public research university in Cookeville, Tennessee, United States. It was formerly known as Tennessee Polytechnic Institute, and before that as University of Dixi ...

Philadelphia Phillies

The

Philadelphia Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. Since 2004, the team's home stadium has been Citize ...

selected McWilliams in the eighth round of the

2014 MLB draft The 2014 Major League Baseball (MLB) First-Year Player Draft was held from June 5 through June 7, 2014, to assign amateur baseball players to MLB teams. The first two rounds were conducted on June 5, followed by rounds three through ten on June ...

. He made his professional debut with the rookie ball

GCL Phillies The Florida Complex League Phillies are a Rookie-level affiliate of the Philadelphia Phillies, competing in the Florida Complex League of Minor League Baseball. Prior to 2021, the team was known as the Gulf Coast League Phillies. The team plays ...

, pitching to a 5.40 ERA in 9 games. McWilliams made 7 appearances for the GCL Phillies in 2015, registering a 3.27 ERA in 33.0 innings of work.

Arizona Diamondbacks

On November 14, 2015, the Phillies traded McWilliams to the

Arizona Diamondbacks The Arizona Diamondbacks (colloquially known as the D-backs) are an American professional baseball team based in Phoenix. The Diamondbacks compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. ...

in exchange for

Jeremy Hellickson Jeremy Robert Hellickson (born April 8, 1987) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Tampa Bay Rays, Arizona Diamondbacks, Philadelphia Phillies, Baltimore Orioles, and Washington Na ...

. He spent the 2016 season with the

Kane County Cougars The Kane County Cougars are an independent professional baseball team located in Geneva, Illinois and are members of the American Association of Professional Baseball, an official Partner League of Major League Baseball (MLB). They play their h ...

of the Single–A

Midwest League The Midwest League is a Minor League Baseball league established in 1947 and based in the Midwestern United States. A Class A league for most of its history, the league was promoted to High-A as part of Major League Baseball's 2021 reorganiza ...

, and posted a 3–6 record and 3.98 ERA in 15 games. He returned to Kane County for the 2017 season, pitching to an 11–6 record and 2.84 ERA with 98 strikeouts in 133.0 innings pitched. He began the 2018 season with the

Visalia Rawhide The Visalia Rawhide are a Minor League Baseball team of the California League and the Single-A affiliate of the Arizona Diamondbacks. They are located in Visalia, California, and have played their home games at Valley Strong Ballpark since thei ...

of the High–A California League.

Tampa Bay Rays

On May 1, 2018, the

Tampa Bay Rays The Tampa Bay Rays are an American professional baseball team based in St. Petersburg, Florida. The Rays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Since its inception, the team's home v ...

acquired McWilliams and

Colin Poche Colin Michael Poche ( ; born January 17, 1994) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Tampa Bay Rays of Major League Baseball (MLB). Amateur career Poche attended Marcus High School in Flower Mound, Texas. As a senior in 2012, he ...

from the Diamondbacks as the

players to be named later In Major League Baseball, a player to be named later (PTBNL) is an unnamed player involved in exchange or "trade" of players between teams. The terms of a trade are not finalized until a later date, most often following the conclusion of the seaso ...

from the February trade in which the Diamondbacks acquired

Steven Souza Jr. Steven Jeffrey Souza Jr. (born April 24, 1989) is an American former professional baseball right fielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Washington Nationals, Tampa Bay Rays, Arizona Diamondbacks, Chicago Cubs, Los Angeles Dodg ...

from the Rays. He finished the year split between the High-A

Charlotte Stone Crabs The Charlotte Stone Crabs were a Minor League Baseball team located in Port Charlotte, Florida, from 2009 to 2020. They competed in the Florida State League (FSL) as the Class A-Advanced affiliate of the Tampa Bay Rays Major League Baseball (MLB ...

and the Double-A

Montgomery Biscuits The Montgomery Biscuits are a Minor League Baseball team based in Montgomery, Alabama. They are the Double-A (baseball), Double-A affiliate of the Tampa Bay Rays and play in the Southern League (1964–present), Southern League. The team was found ...

, pitching to a 6–8 record with 101 strikeouts. The

selected McWilliams in the 2018 Rule 5 draft. After pitching to a 15.43 ERA in innings in spring training, the Royals returned McWilliams to the Rays on March 24, 2019. McWilliams split the 2019 season between Montgomery and the Triple-A

Durham Bulls The Durham Bulls are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Tampa Bay Rays. They are located in Durham, North Carolina, and play their home games at Durham Bulls Athletic Park, which opened i ...

, posting a 7–9 record and 4.10 ERA in 26 games between the two teams. McWilliams did not play in a game in 2020 due to the cancellation of the minor league season because of the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identified ...

. On November 2, 2020, he elected free agency.

New York Mets

Due to changes McWilliams made to his mechanics and repertoire at Tampa Bay's alternate site during the 2020 season, roughly half the teams in Major League Baseball had inquired about signing him after he became a free agent. Ultimately, on November 20, 2020, McWilliams signed a one-year major league contract with the

for $750,000, far more than the Major League minimum despite never having pitched in a major league game. On May 31, 2021, McWilliams was designated for assignment by New York after struggling to a 10.80 ERA in 7 appearances for the Triple-A

Syracuse Mets The Syracuse Mets are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the New York Mets. They are located in Syracuse, New York, and play their home games at NBT Bank Stadium, which opened in 1997 and has ...

. McWilliams had not appeared in the majors for the Mets at the time of his designation.

San Diego Padres

On June 5, 2021, McWilliams was claimed off waivers by the

. On June 19, McWilliams was outrighted off of the 40-man roster without making a major league appearance. He split time between the Double-A

San Antonio Missions The San Antonio Missions are a Minor League Baseball team of the Texas League and the Double-A affiliate of the San Diego Padres. They are located in San Antonio, Texas, and are named for the Spanish missions around which the city was founded ...

and Triple-A

El Paso Chihuahuas The El Paso Chihuahuas are a Minor League Baseball team of the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the San Diego Padres. They are located in El Paso, Texas, and play their home games at Southwest University Park, which opened ...

to finish out the year. With El Paso, he struggled to a 10.07 ERA in 18 appearances, and with San Antonio, he registered a 4.91 ERA in 11 games. McWilliams elected free agency on October 6.

Cincinnati Reds

On March 19, 2022, McWilliams signed a minor league contract with the

Cincinnati Reds The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team based in Cincinnati. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division and were a charter member of ...

. McWilliams appeared in 9 games split between the rookie-level

Arizona Complex League Reds The Arizona Complex League Reds are a Rookie-level affiliate of the Cincinnati Reds, competing in the Arizona Complex League of Minor League Baseball. The team plays its home games at Goodyear Ballpark in Goodyear, Arizona. The team is composed m ...

and Double-A

Chattanooga Lookouts The Chattanooga Lookouts are a Minor League Baseball team of the Southern League and the Double-A affiliate of the Cincinnati Reds. They are located in Chattanooga, Tennessee, and are named for nearby Lookout Mountain. The team plays its home ...

, logging a cumulative 0–5 record and 10.13 ERA with 18 strikeouts in 18.2 innings pitched. He was released on June 18. In August 2022, McWilliams ended his playing career and became a sales representative with Blast Athletics.

Chicago Cubs

On January 29, 2024, McWilliams came out of retirement and signed a minor league contract with the

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:McWilliams, Sam 1995 births Living people People from Hendersonville, Tennessee Sportspeople from the Nashville metropolitan area Baseball players from Orlando, Florida Baseball pitchers Florida Complex League Phillies players Kane County Cougars players Visalia Rawhide players Charlotte Stone Crabs players Montgomery Biscuits players Durham Bulls players Syracuse Mets players El Paso Chihuahuas players