Cubs Acquire Free Agent Right-Hander to Transaction
The Athletic reports that before choosing to give baseball another go, the 28-year-old held employment in Mexico and the Dominican Republic.Following his graduation from Hendersonville, Tennessee’s Beech High School, McWilliams was chosen by the Philadelphia Phillies in the eighth round of the 2014 MLB draft.
During his two seasons with the Phillies in 2014 and 2015, he was a starter for the Gulf Coast League squad, going 2–5 overall.Following that, two transactions involving McWilliams moved him across the professional baseball league.
After trading for Jeremy Hellickson in late 2015, the Phillies acquired him from Arizona, where he spent the next two seasons as the High-A affiliate of the Arizona Diamondbacks.As a player to be named later in a transaction for Steven Sousa Jr., the D-backs moved him to Tampa Bay in May 2018. He progressed to Double-A with Tampa Bay. Yet, Kansas City chose him in the Rule 5 Draft at the end of 2018.
Following his roughly five innings pitched in the spring with the Royals, McWilliams was sent back to the Rays, where he was promoted to Triple-A Durham, with a 15.43 ERA. November 2020 saw his selection of free agency.
For the 2021 season, he signed a Major League contract with the New York Mets, but after just seven games at Triple-A Syracuse, he was designated for assignment in May.
After two weeks of being claimed by the Padres and subsequently outrighted, he played out his season at Triple-A El Paso, elected to enter free agency, and signed with Cincinnati prior to the 2022 campaign.After pitching in minor leagues, McWilliams is 34-45 with a 4.41 ERA.